I’ll confess to being a huge fan of this guy’s wonderful music and have the pleasure of knowing him well. That aside, however, since first discovering him, following a tip-off from a US buddy of mine many, many years ago, I’ve constantly been surprised by the sheer quality of each release and the clear, evident improving fret mastery he displays.
While many pickers seem to reach a plateau and then sit on their butts seldom moving further or exploring musical possibilities, Walker is always exploring, changing, charging ahead; at times he sounds like ole Doc Watson as he cross-picks, fingerpicks and switches effortlessly from Americana, folk with an Irish edge to straight blues. Tracks included here in this seventeen-track disc include his own compositions, ‘See My Grave Is Kept Clean’, Irish reels, Daley’s Reel/Stoney Lonesome and even an exceptional and surprising solo take on Fats Waller’s old classic, ‘Lulu’s Back In Town’ and Muddy’s marvelous ‘She Moves Me.’
Overall, this is a sparkling, strong bit of acoustic driven fretwork from an absolute master who cannot be contained or disappointing. What in reality we have here is little short of genuine treasure. Grab it while you can.
