Reviewed by Taf Rock for MPM
74 year old Walter Trout has been treading the boards for over five decades and is known as one of the premier blues guitarists on the scene.
But Walter also knows how to rock out and speak his mind. On his last album Bleed he joined forces with one of rock’s most outspoken frontmen (Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider) to proclaim I’ve Had Enough. The fast and furious track was one of the highlights of a colossal album.
In the 18 months since that album was released the world has seemingly gone crazier and our population angrier. Walter taps into this cauldron of emotion and graphically portrays the sense of bewilderment and fury that a lot of us feel at the moment throughout his latest album Sign Of The Times which is released September 5 via Provogue Records.
Opening track and debut single Artificial continues the theme of that aforementioned Snider collaboration as Walter makes clear his opinions on the falseness and artificial nature of many aspects of life. Artificial intelligence is rapidly creeping into most people’s consciousness in one way or another. It’s getting increasingly difficult to ‘tell what’s real anymore’. That said no-one is more genuine than Walter, there’s no falseness here. The fiery nature of the lyrics matched by the explosive riff and lung-busting harmonica throughout a blistering four minutes sees Walter get a lot off his chest. Leaving a smile on the listener’s face that’s anything but false.
After venting his frustration and raising the blood pressure to hypertension levels it’s no surprise that Walter finds Blood On My Pillow. ‘The fire’s turned to coal… it’s hollow.. it’s raw’ graphic lyrics penned by wife Marie tell the story of broken hearts. Walter’s guitar in harmony with lush Teddy Andreadis keys, John Avila’s bass and Michael Leisure’s drums sees the blues ‘ooze from the soul’.
The pendulum swings back to rock as we turn the amps to eleven once again for the title track Sign Of The Times. Fuzzed up and distorted it conjurs up images of Godzilla trashing the city in a rage whilst wearing headphones blasting out Sabbath’s Iron Man. Andreadis’ keys like a hammer striking the anvil in a blacksmith’s forge. Heavy and industrial ‘nuggets of noise’… a unique sound ‘fills the air’ quite unlike any tune you’ve heard before. The mayhem of the music leads into uproarious chanting reminiscent of a tribe summoning some mystical god. ‘We bend our necks in social media pews’ – Marie conveys the craziness of modern day life with her words thrown into an incredible melting pot of madness. People, get your heads out of your phone and heed these words.
Walter is certainly taking us on a rollercoaster ride with this album as the mood dramatically alters with the acoustic tribute Mona Lisa, Smile. Delightful, heartfelt and beautiful mandolin, accordion and violin accompany Walter as he sings about his wife’s hidden vulnerabilities. ‘I can see the sadness in your eyes… I promise you’re safe with me’.
Walter has endured more than his fair share of trouble and strife over the years much of it self-inflicted. He refers to such times during Hurt No More as he celebrates his recovery from the dark days of drink and drugs. ‘I cut myself… then I threw away the knife.. don’t wanna hurt myself… I finally opened up my eyes’. Deep, dark and personal Walter is never afraid to bare his soul. Inspirational and uplifting the guitar solo leads us out of the darkness and into a new brighter future.
No Strings Attached opens to the sound of blistering Hendrix style guitar accompanying the beat of Leisure’s bass drum. Andreadis and Avila join in on keys and bass respectively to create a wall of sound as the rock returns. Walter snarls as he takes a sidewise snipe at those that pour scorn on other people’s beliefs – the small-minded bigots of society the target of Walter’s wrath this time. ‘Got no love inside your heart… Go ahead and light that match… You’re all devoid of hope’.
Anger and wrath dispelled for now – I Remember is a joyous look back at simpler times. ‘Everything was new then… We were filled with wonder.’ Built on a joyful Andreadis’ piano foundation, we get carried by the guitar on an airy breeze to a place of peace and tranquility where we can reflect as Walter stands up in front of us and delivers his sermon – ‘I felt something today … It was beautiful… Sweet… Clear… Real… I realised that’s what I wanna feel.’ As we leave the church of Trout the sound of the choir assures we are at peace with the world and full of hope once again.
A child of the 50s ‘lowtech man’ Walter admits to being unable to ‘keep up with technology’ relying at times on Marie to be his ‘helping hand’, his Hightech Woman. Set to a good old fashioned bar-room boogie beat Walter proclaims ‘I’ve given up tryin’ to figure it out’ as the band have fun, Walter exchanging guitar licks with Andreadis’ rollicking keys.
Acoustic guitar and harmonica form the basis of Too Bad, a break-up song delivered in the authentic style of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. The basis of the lyrics may be down n out but the tune is joyous in its simplicity.
Sign Of The Times is an album full of energy, an outlet for Walter to vent as he airs his frustrations with modern life and the state of the world. And so we finish as we started with Struggle To Believe, an explosive track that registers high on the Richter scale. The tectonic plates aren’t the only thing moving as the band uncork the bottle for one final release. The bass booms, drums thunder and Walter’s guitar screams in an extensive expression of musical freedom. Walter spits out the fiery lyrics with increasing venom ‘trying to hang on’ as we cross the finish line and ‘wonder what went wrong?’
45 minutes of emotionally charged angst. A necessary release for all and sundry. It’s a Sign Of The Times we are living in.
Pre-save or order the album here https://lnk.to/waltertrout#SignOfTheTimes#waltertrout
