Bman's Blues Report

I just received the newest release, Mustang Blues , from John Earl Walker and it digs in deep. Opening with Hey Baby , a cool 12 bar jam with a Allstars flare. John Earl Walker has been playing his guitar for some time and he lays on it early showing he knows his way around. Joined by Peter Harris on bass, Frank Diorio on drums and Gene Cordew on keys, this track is a great opener! Solid down, The Devil Follows Me , sounds like it's straight from Chicago and Walker slings his guitar with comfort. His riffs roll off of his fingertips like water pushed along nicely by Cordew on piano. Title track, Mustang Blues , has a funky R&B feel along the lines of Mustang Sally or Poke Salad Annie. This is a cool track with Steve Ress adding some real nice slide guitar work on the mix. Funkify is a guitar led instrumental with a funky beat and extended guitar soloing. I'm Already Gone is a modern blues style take on a soul feel. It has the blues basis with strong bass by Harris and ...

John Earl and his band are composed of veteran performers whose electric blues are very well received world-wide. They have played together many years, with two of the members (John Earl and bassist Peter Harris) dating back to 1967. Peter was with John Earl in Capitol recording artists Plum Nelly and was onstage when they played at Carnegie Hall, opening for the James Gang, on May 15, 1971. Leading up to signing with Capitol Records they opened shows for every top act, such as; Buddy Guy, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix, Dr. John, John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, and many other luminaries. John Earl Walker, founder, lead guitarist and lead vocalist of the band, took up the guitar at age thirteen. Shortly thereafter, John began forming his own bands to play at local gigs. He also started writing his own music and lyrics, a practice he continues to this day as evidenced by the forty two original tunes penned by Walker on his four studio CD releases. By age sixteen, John was playing...