Published on Sep 4, 2000
Live blues music can often be a hit-or-miss affair, especially
when the performer is affected by circumstances out of their
control. Take Walter Trout, vocalist and guitarist for his band,
the Free Radicals. In the liner notes of his latest CD
Live Trout, the story of how Trout almost didn’t make it to
this show (recorded in Tampa Bay this past March) is detailed.
That he could muster up the energy to put on a nearly 90-minute
set is amazing enough. But to put on a set like he does over these
two discs is more than amazing, it’s a testament to the kind of
musician that Trout is. And while there are moments where the
energy lags in the show, overall this is the kind of disc that
could turn Trout into a household name.
Trout often seems like a rock guitarist more than a blues
musician. He whips off lead lines as if he were emulating Jimmy
Page, sounding like he’s blistering his fretboard. He lets loose
with wild whoops of joy often throughout the course of this
show.
Yet beneath the surface lies the soul of a bluesman, and he
proves it throughout
Live Trout. With tracks like “I Can Tell,” “Gotta Broken
Heart,” “Finally Gotten Over You” and “Serves Me Right To Suffer,”
Trout and his band put on a show that goes right for the jugular.
Often, he hits it dead on, while he occasionally hurts his cause
with incessant guitar noodling, such as what he does at the close
of “Walkin’ In The Rain”.
Trout even makes a strong case for declaring Bob Dylan a blues
musician, as evidenced by his cover of “I Shall Be Released,” which
is performed lovingly. Even the closer, “Good Enough To Eat,” in
all its irreverent style, comes across as being loads of fun.
On one glance, it may seem funny that this was turned into a
two-disc set, when neither disc clocks in at over 50 minutes. But
this is supposedly the whole set that Trout performed (I’m not
calling them liars; I just can’t prove that it is, since I wasn’t
there), and no one has figured out a way to cram 90 minutes’ worth
of music onto one disc. So, to preserve the show’s continuity, the
split is made – and, in retrospect, it makes perfect sense.
Live Trout will have you fishing for the right compliments
to use when describing this disc, and even with a few minor
stumbles, it will reel you in hook, line and sinker. Who knows? You
may not even resort to weak, fish-related humor like this.