onurblues: Toby Walker - Hand Picked (2008)

May 05, 2022

Toby Walker - Hand Picked (2008)

Walkin' with Master Walker

The old red tractor on the front cover sets things straight and clear : we're bound for a tour of rural American music : country blues, rag, folk and countryfied bluegrass (or maybe the opposite). And, as the title "Hand Picked" double-entendre announces, we're invited to a harvest of great ripe finger-style guitar. Toby Walker, who lost his nickname "Little" long ago for good reasons, is rambling around his musical orchard with his acoustic guitars, backed on some tracks by a minimal drumless band featuring excellent fiddler Jay Ungar and upright acoustic or electric bass by Molly Mason or Tom Griffith.

We already talked about the man's career in our review of his 2011 album "Shake Shake Mama" (1), so this time let's concentrate solely on the musical content of this album.

When you hear the amazing sound of Walker's National Steel guitar on "Hey Good Lookin'" or on his incredible version of "Mind Your Own Business", two Hank Wiliams covers, his extraordinary Piedmont finger-picking style on "Better Luck Next Time", or his slide technique on his original "Little Dixie", you know you're hearing a master at work. Nothing being more difficult to record than an acoustic guitar, be it a steel one, you understand he was brilliantly served by the two sound engineers, Larry Moser and Gilbert Hetherwick. Moreover when you listen to half of his lyrics, or those of the songs he adapted or chose to cover, you realize the guy has a serious sense of humor ! On top of that he's not only a top guitarist but also a great story teller, and an excellent singer. What else do you need to enjoy fifty memorable minutes of acoustic music ?!

Walker's guitar wanders through blues, rag, folk and bluegrass-tinged country music with equal talent, enhanced by the beat of the bass on six tracks, and on four tracks conversing with the old-time earthly sound of the fiddle that transports you in some backforests and mountains of the Appalachians.

The jumping bluegrassy tempo of the opening "Big Meat Shakin' On The Bone" announces the general tone of  the album : steel guitar, upright bass, nimble fiddle and funny lyrics. The two Hank Williams songs are outstanding pieces of American rural folklore, especially the fantastic "Mind Your Own Business", again such an incredible lesson of finger-picking style that it would discourage any guitar beginner ! Tracks like "Central Islip Jail Blues" or "Mama Keeps Her Kitchen Clean" illustrate the man's humorous storytelling talent worth that of a real short story writer.

With his version of the traditional "Work Holler", Walker takes us right down in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta, which is also the land of Skip James for whom Walker has a strong admiration that he shows through his unusual melancholic versions of "Hard Time Killing Floor" and "Special Rider Blues".

The album closes with two delicate Walker's creations : the instrumental folk "Leon's Little Girl" and the beautifully moving country ballad "The Secret". When this marvelous album ends and silence suddenly leaves you with a sad feeling of loss, the only way to regain a joyful mood is to play it again. ■

(1) https://onurblues.blogspot.com/2022/03/toby-walker-shake-shake-mama-2011.html

Toby Walker Web site : https://www.littletobywalker.com

Videos

Lots of links to live Walker's full shows were already proposed on this blog on the page mentioned above, I invite you to visit them, if you haven't already.

Following are the only live performances of songs from the album available on YT.

● "Big Meat Shakin' On The Bone" : https://youtu.be/ZiR_LHk-wKk