Blues in modern times often lacks pain or purpose. Walter Trout was rarely guilty of that, but his 2014 album The Blues Came Callin’ was an unblinking stare into the abyss, as he painfully faced death from hepatitis C. Battle Scars followed with a rueful post-op look back at the damage done.
Now this 2015 gig documents Trout’s surging return to health. Almost Gone is as intimate as it gets, as he feels his body ‘closing down’, and seems to see his fate in his wife’s eyes. But this is a resurrection party, not a wake. ‘Gimme it one more time, brother – go go go go!’ Trout testifies to his long-time keyboard player Sammy Avila, relishing his Hammond rush.
Son John drops in for a jam, BB King is honoured with a soulfully simmering Say Goodbye To The Blues, and by the end Trout is lost in his guitar, blowing his own blues away.
