Track Listing

1. One Time Around
2. Thin Line
3. 747
4. Gift
5. What About You
6. Shade Tree Mechanic
7. 1/4 to 3
8. Mama Didn't Raise No Fool
9. Everybody's Had the Blues
10. Main Goal

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105321 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .18 pounds

Amazon.com
Former gospel performer Joe Louis Walker, based in San Francisco, had his second go as a blues guitarist in high gear when he recorded The Gift for release in 1988, the first year he copped Contemporary Artist of the Year at the W.C. Handy Awards in Memphis. His singing is distinctive here, little harm if he sounds nasal and pinched on "Thin Line," and it's clear his guitar playing, an individuated mix of Chicago and West Coast blues influences, has developed to a point where it exalts the spirit as it stirs the heart. But Walker the songwriter isn't yet in full bloom--album coproducer Bruce Bromberg, bass player Henry Odom, and a few others lend him a helping hand. "Mama Didn't Raise No Fool" is the track that stands the test of time. Today Walker is arguably the number-one blues entertainer, and The Gift exists as a solid album in his discography. --Frank-John Hadley

Customer Reviews

A songwriter's dream, R&B Soul Blues
One of, if the not "the" greatest albumn Walker has put out. His raw "saxaphone" voice cuts through with lyrics that are fresh and definitly lived. JLW's guitar work is what sets him apart from so many of the blues players of his generation, there are so many guitarists who don't know of his work and its definitly top notch. This is a great albumn to have in the background or to study note for note, worth the money.