Seth Walker - Leap Of Faith (2009) [RE-UP]

For those who may have forgotten that all American music – pop, jazz, R&B, rock, show tunes, even gospel music – has its roots in the blues, Seth Walker offers a refresher course in blues based American music. Walker's been pigeonholed as a blues man, but he's much more. His songwriting is professional in the old sense of the word; like Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, he uses the blues as a backbone for tunes that will equally please roots, Americana, folk, pop, and blues fans. He's a fine guitarist, but his playing never calls attention to itself, it's always placed in service of the song and the lyrics crackle with insight and subtle wit. He laughs with us, not at us. "I Don't Dance" is a smooth southside shuffle wherein Walker complains about his lack of dancefloor dexterity; the band rocks and while he stumbles wondering what to do with his feet, he brings a smile to your face with his understated humor. "In the Dark" borrows a Howlin' Wolf-like groove for a song about a clueless guy who can't see the love that's staring him in the face. Colin Linden's guitar is sinister and playful as it weaves in and out of Walker's vocal line. "I Got a Song" is a beautiful Ray Charles style ballad with an aching lyric, a big string section, smoky piano bar keyboard work from Kevin McKendree, and one of Walker's most soulful vocals. "Rewind" is a second-line strut about lost love that sounds like an R&B hit from the '60s, while "Lay Down" is a relaxed gospel tune marked by mellow resonator guitar. Walker also has a winning way with covers. Nick Lowe's "Lately I've let Things Slide" straddles country and R&B to interpret an arch song about aging, loneliness, and mortality. Poignant pedal steel and honky tonk piano give the tune a careless air belied by the lyric and Walker's weary vocal. Percy Mayfield's bluesy "Memory Pain" comes from someplace halfway between New Orleans and L.A., and Walker gives the tune just the right nostalgic touch. Walker lives in Austin, TX, a town perfectly suited to his expansive style, and this is his sixth album, a solid gem that should be in everybody's CD player.–by Rovi

1. If I Hold On 3:02
2. Treasures in Heaven 5:08
3. Blessed is He 3:45
4. Wishing 2:45
5. Good News 5:44
6. Let Your Love Shine Down 3:25
7. Her Story 2:27
8. The Secret 4:23
9. Victory 4:12
10. I Will Praise My God 2:30
11. Leap of Faith 1:45

BIO: A soulful singer, skilled songwriter, and a guitarist with a sharp, clear tone, Seth Walker didn't come to the blues and R&B by the normal path, whatever the normal path might be – he grew up in a two-family commune in rural North Carolina and began his musical path at three years old as a cellist. Both his father and mother were classically trained musicians, and Walker's childhood was full of classical music, but there was also plenty of country, rock, and pop thrown in there, too. He discovered the guitar when he was in his late teens, and thanks to a savvy uncle, he was introduced to the blues, and fell under the spell of blues artists like T-Bone Walker, Snooks Eaglin, and B.B. King. Walker moved to Austin, Texas when he was in his early twenties and begin to hone his craft, developing a clean, classic electric guitar tone and an impressively soulful vocal style, part Ray Charles, part Delbert McClinton. He also learned to write songs, and released his first album in 1997, and by the time he released the self-titled Seth Walker in 2008, he had rounded his sound and style into something pretty special. Walker began writing songs with Gary Nicholson, a Nashville-based songwriter and producer, which led to the smooth, polished, assured, and critically acclaimed Leap of Faith (with Nicholson producing) in 2009. After some ten years in Austin, Walker relocated to Nashville, and released the self-produced Time Can Change in 2012, an album that was much sparser and less deliberately polished than Leap of Faith.–by Steve Leggett