7 Walkers (album)
Encyclopedia
7 Walkers is an album
by the rock band 7 Walkers
. The group's first album, it was released on CD
and LP
on November 2, 2010.
The band 7 Walkers was formed in 2009 by former Grateful Dead
drummer Bill Kreutzmann
and guitarist and singer Malcolm Welbourne, better known as Papa Mali
, along with multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard
and bass player Reed Mathis
. In 2010, after most of the tracks for their debut album had been recorded, Mathis went back to touring with his main band, Tea Leaf Green
, and was replaced by George Porter, Jr.
, former bassist of the Meters
. Porter appears on one track of the album.
The lyrics for most of the songs on 7 Walkers were written by Robert Hunter
, who wrote the words for many Grateful Dead songs. Willie Nelson
plays guitar and sings on one track, "King Cotton Blues".
According to the Austin Chronicle, "Kreutzmann refers to the music of 7 Walkers as 'swampadelic,' a natural meeting point between his West Coast psychedelia and Welbourne's voodoo-funk. Theirs is a saga of friendship and good fortune, set in the bayou but firmly entrenched in Austin." The album is dedicated to the state of Louisiana
and the city of New Orleans.
, Gary Graff
wrote, "... in 7 Walkers, Dead percussionist Bill Kreutzmann has hit pay dirt. The well-credentialed group — fronted by Louisiana singer/guitarist Papa Mali and now including Meters bassist George Porter (who appears on only one of the debut album's 13 tracks) — plays it loose and rootsy in a manner Deadheads will certainly find appealing, especially with Robert Hunter writing lyrics.... A fine soundtrack for Louisiana's continuing return to glory."
In JamBase, Dennis Cook wrote, "7 Walkers... is the most organic, original music to come out of the core Grateful Dead alumni since the passing of Jerry Garcia. It's worth getting right down to brass tacks since 7 Walkers goes for the creative jugular in such a lusty, exuberant manner. With richly imaginative lyrics penned by Dead scribe Robert Hunter... Even on paper this quartet is lethal, but that's nothing compared to the roiling energy when they come together in the flesh. With their collective pedigree, there's an enormous pool of possibilities and their self-titled debut reflects all their swirling undercurrents and coalesces into fascinating new shapes, fresh colors forming on the surface of things as dark, interesting eddies move below. Put another way, there's something powerful and primal and beautiful going on in the music of 7 Walkers."
In All About Jazz
, Nick DeRiso wrote, "Grateful Dead co-founder Bill Kreutzmann, great groovy Meters bassman George Porter Jr. and hoodoo guitarist Papa Mali have joined together to form 7 Walkers, a rousing fusion of Bay area jam-rock with greasy New Orleans rhythm and blues.... Together, they often stir up powerful memories of Kreutzmann's old band — from the mystical '7 Walkers', which gave the band its name, to 'Evangeline', where Kreutzmann does such a sensitive turn at the drums. But 7 Walkers never settle, and never settle in...."
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the rock band 7 Walkers
7 Walkers
7 Walkers are an American rock band featuring former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann and guitarist Papa Mali-History:The band formed in 2009 out of informal collaborations between Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali. Kreutzmann had been featured as a special guest at several of Mali's concerts...
. The group's first album, it was released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and LP
LP record
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
on November 2, 2010.
The band 7 Walkers was formed in 2009 by former Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
drummer Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
and guitarist and singer Malcolm Welbourne, better known as Papa Mali
Papa Mali
Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne is an American slide guitarist, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, and is based in Austin, Texas....
, along with multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard
Matt Hubbard (musician)
Matthew Hubbard is an American musician best known for his work with Willie Nelson and with the band 7 Walkers.-Career:Matt Hubbard began his career by studying electronic music at Oberlin Conservatory. He began working with Willie Nelson in 1998 and has been running Nelson's home studio in Luck,...
and bass player Reed Mathis
Reed Mathis
Reed Mathis is an American composer, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is highly regarded for his innovative use of effected bass as well as his stylistic versatility...
. In 2010, after most of the tracks for their debut album had been recorded, Mathis went back to touring with his main band, Tea Leaf Green
Tea Leaf Green
Tea Leaf Green is a five-piece jam band from San Francisco Bay Area, comprising Josh Clark , Trevor Garrod , Reed Mathis , Scott Rager , and Cochrane McMillan .-History:Tea Leaf Green began in the fall of 1996, when Scott Rager met Ben Chambers on the...
, and was replaced by George Porter, Jr.
George Porter, Jr.
George Porter, Jr. is a musician best known as the bassist and singer of The Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 60's and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of funk. The Meters disbanded in 1977, but reformed in 1989...
, former bassist of the Meters
The Meters
The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977...
. Porter appears on one track of the album.
The lyrics for most of the songs on 7 Walkers were written by Robert Hunter
Robert Hunter (lyricist)
Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
, who wrote the words for many Grateful Dead songs. Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
plays guitar and sings on one track, "King Cotton Blues".
According to the Austin Chronicle, "Kreutzmann refers to the music of 7 Walkers as 'swampadelic,' a natural meeting point between his West Coast psychedelia and Welbourne's voodoo-funk. Theirs is a saga of friendship and good fortune, set in the bayou but firmly entrenched in Austin." The album is dedicated to the state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and the city of New Orleans.
Critical reception
In BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Gary Graff
Gary Graff
Gary Graff is an American music journalist and author.-Biography:Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Graff attended Taylor Allderdice High School where he wrote for school newspaper The Taylor Allderdice Foreword. He received his Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri...
wrote, "... in 7 Walkers, Dead percussionist Bill Kreutzmann has hit pay dirt. The well-credentialed group — fronted by Louisiana singer/guitarist Papa Mali and now including Meters bassist George Porter (who appears on only one of the debut album's 13 tracks) — plays it loose and rootsy in a manner Deadheads will certainly find appealing, especially with Robert Hunter writing lyrics.... A fine soundtrack for Louisiana's continuing return to glory."
In JamBase, Dennis Cook wrote, "7 Walkers... is the most organic, original music to come out of the core Grateful Dead alumni since the passing of Jerry Garcia. It's worth getting right down to brass tacks since 7 Walkers goes for the creative jugular in such a lusty, exuberant manner. With richly imaginative lyrics penned by Dead scribe Robert Hunter... Even on paper this quartet is lethal, but that's nothing compared to the roiling energy when they come together in the flesh. With their collective pedigree, there's an enormous pool of possibilities and their self-titled debut reflects all their swirling undercurrents and coalesces into fascinating new shapes, fresh colors forming on the surface of things as dark, interesting eddies move below. Put another way, there's something powerful and primal and beautiful going on in the music of 7 Walkers."
In All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
, Nick DeRiso wrote, "Grateful Dead co-founder Bill Kreutzmann, great groovy Meters bassman George Porter Jr. and hoodoo guitarist Papa Mali have joined together to form 7 Walkers, a rousing fusion of Bay area jam-rock with greasy New Orleans rhythm and blues.... Together, they often stir up powerful memories of Kreutzmann's old band — from the mystical '7 Walkers', which gave the band its name, to 'Evangeline', where Kreutzmann does such a sensitive turn at the drums. But 7 Walkers never settle, and never settle in...."
Track listing
- "WYAT Radio / Cane River Waltz" (Malcolm WelbournePapa MaliMalcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne is an American slide guitarist, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, and is based in Austin, Texas....
) – 0:33 - "Sue From Bogalusa" (Robert HunterRobert Hunter (lyricist)Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
, Welbourne, Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
) – 3:30 - "King Cotton Blues" (Hunter, Welbourne, Kreutzmann, Matt HubbardMatt Hubbard (musician)Matthew Hubbard is an American musician best known for his work with Willie Nelson and with the band 7 Walkers.-Career:Matt Hubbard began his career by studying electronic music at Oberlin Conservatory. He began working with Willie Nelson in 1998 and has been running Nelson's home studio in Luck,...
) – 8:34 - "(For the Love of) Mr. Okra" (Welbourne, Kreutzmann, Hubbard, Reed MathisReed MathisReed Mathis is an American composer, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is highly regarded for his innovative use of effected bass as well as his stylistic versatility...
) – 3:12 - "Chingo!" (Hunter, Welbourne, Kreutzmann, George Porter, Jr.George Porter, Jr.George Porter, Jr. is a musician best known as the bassist and singer of The Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 60's and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of funk. The Meters disbanded in 1977, but reformed in 1989...
) – 7:20 - "Louisiana Rain" (Hunter, Welbourne, Kreutzmann) – 8:07
- "Someday You'll See (Prelude)" (Welbourne) – 4:02
- "New Orleans Crawl" (Hunter, Welbourne, Kreutzmann) – 5:46
- "Evangeline" (Hunter, Welbourne, Kreutzmann) – 8:24
- "Hey Bo Diddle" (Hunter, Welbourne, Kreutzmann) – 4:54
- "Airline Highway" (Welbourne, Kreutzmann, Hubbard, Mathis) – 1:16
- "Someday You'll See" (Welbourne) – 3:03
- "7 Walkers" (Hunter, Welbourne, Kreutzmann, Hubbard, Mathis) – 5:53
7 Walkers
- Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Papa MaliPapa MaliMalcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne is an American slide guitarist, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, and is based in Austin, Texas....
– guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Matt HubbardMatt Hubbard (musician)Matthew Hubbard is an American musician best known for his work with Willie Nelson and with the band 7 Walkers.-Career:Matt Hubbard began his career by studying electronic music at Oberlin Conservatory. He began working with Willie Nelson in 1998 and has been running Nelson's home studio in Luck,...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, backing vocals - Reed MathisReed MathisReed Mathis is an American composer, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is highly regarded for his innovative use of effected bass as well as his stylistic versatility...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - George Porter, Jr.George Porter, Jr.George Porter, Jr. is a musician best known as the bassist and singer of The Meters. Along with Art Neville, Porter formed the group in the mid 60's and came to be recognized as one of the progenitors of funk. The Meters disbanded in 1977, but reformed in 1989...
– bass on "Chingo!"
Additional musicians
- Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
– guitar, vocals on "King Cotton Blues" - John Bush – percussion on "Chingo!"
- Jane Bond – backing vocals on "New Orleans Crawl"
- Steve Johnson – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
on "New Orleans Crawl"
Production
- Papa Mali – producer, mixing
- Matt Hubbard – engineer
- JT Holt – assistant engineer
- Jim Wilson – mastering
- Jay Blakesberg – photography
- Alexandra Fischer – graphic design
- Mike Egan – cover art
- recorded to analog tape at the Nest, Austin, Texas