Promised Land (Robert Walker)
Encyclopedia
Promised Land is the first solo
studio album
released by American
blues
guitar
ist Robert Walker
after over fifty years of performing. The album was released in 1997 by Rooster Blues
. It contains only one original song by Walker himself, with rest being treatments of standards from a wide range of styles.
Production:
, however, warms to the audio, equating it to "the sweaty vigour of a juke-join Saturday night." According to reviewer Chris Smith, between this and Rock the Night
, Promised Land "has the edge, but only just."
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
released by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist Robert Walker
Robert Walker (musician)
Robert "Bilbo" Walker Jr. is a blues musician. who is known in the blues music world due to his "rock 'n' roll showmanship" and "flamboyant Chuck Berry imitations."- History :Walker was born near Clarksdale, Mississippi. Walker Sr...
after over fifty years of performing. The album was released in 1997 by Rooster Blues
Rooster Blues
Rooster Blues is an American independent record label founded in 1980. The label is dedicated to blues music from the Mississippi Delta. Rooster Blues was co-founded by Jim O'Neal in Chicago, and initially released 14 albums by South Side blues musicians. In 1986, O'Neal moved the label to...
. It contains only one original song by Walker himself, with rest being treatments of standards from a wide range of styles.
Track listing
- "Goin' to the Train Station" (CookeSam CookeSamuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
) — 6:01 - "Please Love Me" (B. B. KingB. B. KingRiley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
) — 4:05 - "Just a Country Boy" (Walker) — 7:04
- "Promised Land" (BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) — 3:43 - "You Took My Love " (John) — 5:52
- "Still a Fool" (WatersMuddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
) — 3:47 - "Wild Side of Life/It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" (Carter, Miller, Warren) — 1:55
- "Everything Gonna Be Alright" (Magic SamMagic SamSamuel "Magic Sam" Gene Maghett was an American Chicago blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi, United States, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter...
) — 4:40 - "Baby, Baby, Baby" (Cooke) — 2:12
- "How Much More/Mama Talk to Your Daughter" (LenoirJ. B. LenoirJ. B. Lenoir /ləˈnɔːr/ was an African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues scene....
) — 3:32 - "Better Lovin' Man" (AxtonHoyt AxtonHoyt Wayne Axton was an American country music singer-songwriter, and a film and television actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. As he matured, some of his songwriting efforts became well...
) — 4:39 - "Hold That Train, Conductor" (ClaytonPeter ClaytonPeter Clayton was an English music broadcaster and writer, best known for presenting jazz and easy listening music programmes on BBC Radio 1 and 2....
) — 3:55 - "Got My Mojo Working" (FosterPreston FosterPreston Foster was an American stage and film actor, and singer. Foster entered films in 1929 after appearing as a Broadway stage actor. He was appearing in Broadway plays as late as October 1931 when he acted in a play titled Two Seconds starring Edward J. Pawley...
) — 4:16 - "Berry Pickin'" (Berry) — 2:52
Personnel
Performers:- Robert Walker — guitar, arranger, vocals, producer
- Sam Carr — drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Frank Frost - organ
Production:
- Spencer Diablo — digital editing
- Brent Endres — mixing
- Duncan Hudson — engineer, mixing
- Patty Johnson, Jim O'Neal — producer, mixing
- Susan Bauer Lee, Selina O'Neal — cover design
- Bill Steber — photography
Reception
Allmusic says that this album has "no real weak cuts" with "a good number of true gems" but mentions that the audio recorded is subpar for the studio. The Penguin Guide to Blues RecordingsThe Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings is a non-fiction book that is an encyclopedic referencing of all known blues music albums released on CD.- Content :...
, however, warms to the audio, equating it to "the sweaty vigour of a juke-join Saturday night." According to reviewer Chris Smith, between this and Rock the Night
Rock the Night (Robert Walker)
Rock the Night is the first live album by American blues rock guitarist Robert Walker. It was recorded on February 4, 2000 and released on October 23, 2001 by Rooster Blues.- Track listing :#"Cut You A Loose" — 4:33#"Found Love" — 3:45...
, Promised Land "has the edge, but only just."