I Got The T-Bone Walker Blues

What will strike you first -- and immediately -- is the authority that Roy Gaines brings to this music. Gaines played with T-Bone Walker almost 50 years ago, and he has Walker’s lively style down pat. These tunes may be covers on a tribute collection of sorts, but hearing them is like getting one of the new U.S. state quarters in your change. It’s recognizable but still fascinating.

"Stormy Monday," which opens the album, is swinging, and it is reprised in a very different acoustic version at the end of the album. In between are tunes that smolder with slow energy, like the restrained "I Got a Break Baby," on which Gaines relies on the lyrics and the horns in the band to provide the fireworks. Gaines’ guitar work on Hank Williams’ "Honky Tonk Blues" is upbeat and a touch twangy -- he can sing and pick. Bill Stuve on bass and Steve Magulian on drums are called upon to create the vital heartbeat for these songs, and they do so in sinewy fashion. They definitely got the blues.

The even bigger story, however, is the sound, which will take your breath away. I Got the T-Bone Walker Blues might be the best album I’ve ever heard. It will make your system sound like it cost a bundle. Miss it at your peril.

Musical Performance: 4 out of 5 Stars
Recording Quality: 5 out of 5 Stars
Overall Enjoyment: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Houston-born Roy Gaines pays a stirring tribute to one of his long-time heroes on I Got the T-Bone Walker Blues (Groove Note 1002-2; 53:14).

Of course, Walker was hugely influenced B.B. King, as you can plainly hear on his early Kent sides. But Gaines, who once shared the stage with his idol at the age of 14, may be the greatest living T-Bone interpreter. He really conveys the spirit of Texas shuffles, slow blues and Lone Star State bravado on this excellent album.

A player of power and polish and a singer of great passion, Gaines does his mentor proud on these eleven tracks (including both electric and acoustic versions of T-Bone’s most famous hit, “Stormy Monday”). And, like King on his Louis Jordan tribute, Gaines is similarly aided by some fine backing from some seasoned, soulful sidemen.

Highly recommended.