10326 - WILY BO WALKER - MOON OVER INDIGO (2015)
WILY BO WALKER
''MOON OVER INDIGO''
SEPTEMBER 25 2015
47:54
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1 Walking With the Devil (Voodoo Mix) 03:59
2 I Want to Know (New York Funk Mix) 04:13
3 Walk in Chinese Footsteps (Wily Bo Walker, E.D. Brayshaw) 04:19
4 Moon Over Indigo 06:03
5 When the Angels Call Your Time 04:41
6 Drive 03:47
7 Same Thing (Willie Dixon) 05:20
8 For the Children 05:07
9 Jenny (Traces in My Arms) 05:37
10 Who Do You Love (New York Chiller Mix) (Ellas McDaniel) 04:42
Tracks By Walker, Except As Indicated
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REVIEW
Pete Feenstra, getreadytorock.me.uk
Blues award nominee, prodigious songwriter, multi band leader and genre hopping roots rock artist, Wily Bo Walker returns with the concluding part of his 2015 trilogy of solo albums.
‘Moon Over Indigo’ comes complete with a generous 20 page booklet with startling art work and is an album steeped in dark narratives, life experiences and two refreshingly arranged covers, all given expression by his bone chilling growl.
Glaswegian Bo doesn’t so much convey a song’s mood as inhabit it. He shifts air molecules with a whisky soaked husky growl that he applies like the darkest colour on an artist’s palette.
In musical terms he does this with a series of layered arrangements that are anchored by his band and topped by vocalist Kareña K and a kicking New York horn section, all under the watchful eye and cool ears of producer Danny Flam.
Wily Bo Walker explores a melange of moods, feels, narratives and grooves, no more so than on the opening ‘Walking With The Devil’, which features the triumvirate of Wily, the devil and Graham Hine’s weeping slide playing which threads its way through the heart of the track.
Each song feels like part of a broad based musical vision that is rooted in blues, swamp, funk and thick as molasses grooves, but is never restricted by any one of them, as Bo succinctly completes a three album cycle.
His subject matter treads a thin dividing line between the autobiographical and his innate storytelling ability. And where his previous album ‘Stone Cold Beautiful’ was a more guitar driven affair, here there’s a greater emphasis on big ensemble playing with Danny Flam’s vibrant horns which give Bo’s husky voice an extra impact.
His deep baritone references a familiar roll call of vocalists from Tom Waits, Dr. John, and Edgar Broughton to Wolf, Hawkins, Cocker, Beefheart and in his darker moments even Nick Cave. His unusual phrasing and tight arrangements allow him to immerse himself in his art and sparkle and surprises us with the kind of diversity and contrast that marked George Clinton funky adventures
‘I Want To Know’ is an unexpected brash, big band outing with Andrews Sister’s style bv’s and a busy horn section that stretches the funky percussive arrangement to the max. There’s a complete change of direction on the synth driven ‘Walk In Chinese Footsteps’, a horn inflected piece with more potent bv’s, as Wily adds his best vocal to fill the track with a characteristic growl
The title track heads for an after hours jazzy feel with a muted trumpet and drifting piano line, while ‘When The Angels Call Your Time’ could have come from Bo’s Rattling Bone repertoire, except that the track’s natural volition pushes it beyond a funeral march.
In sharp contrast ‘Drive’ has a big screen quality, as Bo vocally warms to his task over subtle horns on a kicking arrangement.
He transforms Willie Dixon’s lascivious blues ‘Same Thing’ into big band swagger and adds a nuanced string arrangement and big guitar figure on ‘For The Children’, notable for Kareña K ’s backing and harmony vocals.
He’s less happy on ‘Jenny’(Traces In My Arms)’, a gently thumbed double bass-led ballad that exposes his rough edged vocal and doesn’t quite do enough to engage us, unlike ‘Who Do You Love’ which is predicated on an Afro Beat intro and makes great use of a killer horn section.
This is blues Carruthers, but not as we know it! ‘Moon Over Indigo’ is an original, adventurous album that succeeds in fusing together musically related styles to provide a shifting backdrop to Bo’s world weary voice and lived in narratives. ****
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ABOUT WALKER
www.reverbnation.com
Wily Bo Walker is a solo artist, songwriter, composer and performer noted for his characterful vocals and swaggering 'live' performances. Renowned as being a diverse and prolific artist and hailing originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Wily Bo works across many styles and genres; blues, rock, soul, swamp, alternative, soundtrack and jazz
Wily Bo Walker has released a trilogy of albums for 2015, the latest of which, ‘Moon Over Indigo’, sees him working once again with multiple Grammy Award winning musician and arranger, Danny Flam. Their previous collaboration 'Wily Bo Walker & The Danny Flam Big Band‘ (Nov 2013) received worldwide critical acclaim and was considered for a 2015 Grammy nomination
‘Moon Over Indigo’ will be released on 25th September 2015 on CD and downloadable from iTunes, Amazon etc
The first release of his trilogy for 2015 was a mini-album by Wily Bo Walker & Kareña K entitled 'A Long Way From Heaven' (Jan 2015) with the second in the tryptich being ‘Stone Cold Beautiful’ (May 2015) with long-time friend and musical collaborator, E D Brayshaw. Both releases gained international airplay & good reviews!
For 2016, Wily Bo Walker will again be releasing a trilogy of albums which will include 'Tales of The Mescal Canyon Troubadours'; an album of Wily Bo songs re-interpreted for his five piece bands’ style of guitar driven groovalicious, funkin’ blues and rock! More cinematic tales and drunken fables…
Finally, watch out for his one-man swamp'n'stomp blues show 'Welcome to Voodooville' which Wily Bo Walker will be taking on the road in 2016 and a further album release for 2016 'Some People Kill for Passion: Welcome to Voodooville'
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
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''MOON OVER INDIGO''
SEPTEMBER 25 2015
47:54
**********
1 Walking With the Devil (Voodoo Mix) 03:59
2 I Want to Know (New York Funk Mix) 04:13
3 Walk in Chinese Footsteps (Wily Bo Walker, E.D. Brayshaw) 04:19
4 Moon Over Indigo 06:03
5 When the Angels Call Your Time 04:41
6 Drive 03:47
7 Same Thing (Willie Dixon) 05:20
8 For the Children 05:07
9 Jenny (Traces in My Arms) 05:37
10 Who Do You Love (New York Chiller Mix) (Ellas McDaniel) 04:42
Tracks By Walker, Except As Indicated
**********
REVIEW
Pete Feenstra, getreadytorock.me.uk
Blues award nominee, prodigious songwriter, multi band leader and genre hopping roots rock artist, Wily Bo Walker returns with the concluding part of his 2015 trilogy of solo albums.
‘Moon Over Indigo’ comes complete with a generous 20 page booklet with startling art work and is an album steeped in dark narratives, life experiences and two refreshingly arranged covers, all given expression by his bone chilling growl.
Glaswegian Bo doesn’t so much convey a song’s mood as inhabit it. He shifts air molecules with a whisky soaked husky growl that he applies like the darkest colour on an artist’s palette.
In musical terms he does this with a series of layered arrangements that are anchored by his band and topped by vocalist Kareña K and a kicking New York horn section, all under the watchful eye and cool ears of producer Danny Flam.
Wily Bo Walker explores a melange of moods, feels, narratives and grooves, no more so than on the opening ‘Walking With The Devil’, which features the triumvirate of Wily, the devil and Graham Hine’s weeping slide playing which threads its way through the heart of the track.
Each song feels like part of a broad based musical vision that is rooted in blues, swamp, funk and thick as molasses grooves, but is never restricted by any one of them, as Bo succinctly completes a three album cycle.
His subject matter treads a thin dividing line between the autobiographical and his innate storytelling ability. And where his previous album ‘Stone Cold Beautiful’ was a more guitar driven affair, here there’s a greater emphasis on big ensemble playing with Danny Flam’s vibrant horns which give Bo’s husky voice an extra impact.
His deep baritone references a familiar roll call of vocalists from Tom Waits, Dr. John, and Edgar Broughton to Wolf, Hawkins, Cocker, Beefheart and in his darker moments even Nick Cave. His unusual phrasing and tight arrangements allow him to immerse himself in his art and sparkle and surprises us with the kind of diversity and contrast that marked George Clinton funky adventures
‘I Want To Know’ is an unexpected brash, big band outing with Andrews Sister’s style bv’s and a busy horn section that stretches the funky percussive arrangement to the max. There’s a complete change of direction on the synth driven ‘Walk In Chinese Footsteps’, a horn inflected piece with more potent bv’s, as Wily adds his best vocal to fill the track with a characteristic growl
The title track heads for an after hours jazzy feel with a muted trumpet and drifting piano line, while ‘When The Angels Call Your Time’ could have come from Bo’s Rattling Bone repertoire, except that the track’s natural volition pushes it beyond a funeral march.
In sharp contrast ‘Drive’ has a big screen quality, as Bo vocally warms to his task over subtle horns on a kicking arrangement.
He transforms Willie Dixon’s lascivious blues ‘Same Thing’ into big band swagger and adds a nuanced string arrangement and big guitar figure on ‘For The Children’, notable for Kareña K ’s backing and harmony vocals.
He’s less happy on ‘Jenny’(Traces In My Arms)’, a gently thumbed double bass-led ballad that exposes his rough edged vocal and doesn’t quite do enough to engage us, unlike ‘Who Do You Love’ which is predicated on an Afro Beat intro and makes great use of a killer horn section.
This is blues Carruthers, but not as we know it! ‘Moon Over Indigo’ is an original, adventurous album that succeeds in fusing together musically related styles to provide a shifting backdrop to Bo’s world weary voice and lived in narratives. ****
**********
ABOUT WALKER
www.reverbnation.com
Wily Bo Walker is a solo artist, songwriter, composer and performer noted for his characterful vocals and swaggering 'live' performances. Renowned as being a diverse and prolific artist and hailing originally from Glasgow, Scotland, Wily Bo works across many styles and genres; blues, rock, soul, swamp, alternative, soundtrack and jazz
Wily Bo Walker has released a trilogy of albums for 2015, the latest of which, ‘Moon Over Indigo’, sees him working once again with multiple Grammy Award winning musician and arranger, Danny Flam. Their previous collaboration 'Wily Bo Walker & The Danny Flam Big Band‘ (Nov 2013) received worldwide critical acclaim and was considered for a 2015 Grammy nomination
‘Moon Over Indigo’ will be released on 25th September 2015 on CD and downloadable from iTunes, Amazon etc
The first release of his trilogy for 2015 was a mini-album by Wily Bo Walker & Kareña K entitled 'A Long Way From Heaven' (Jan 2015) with the second in the tryptich being ‘Stone Cold Beautiful’ (May 2015) with long-time friend and musical collaborator, E D Brayshaw. Both releases gained international airplay & good reviews!
For 2016, Wily Bo Walker will again be releasing a trilogy of albums which will include 'Tales of The Mescal Canyon Troubadours'; an album of Wily Bo songs re-interpreted for his five piece bands’ style of guitar driven groovalicious, funkin’ blues and rock! More cinematic tales and drunken fables…
Finally, watch out for his one-man swamp'n'stomp blues show 'Welcome to Voodooville' which Wily Bo Walker will be taking on the road in 2016 and a further album release for 2016 'Some People Kill for Passion: Welcome to Voodooville'
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
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