Wily Bo Walker & ED Brayshaw
Stone Cold Beautiful
Mescal Canyon Records
Cool and Grizzled Blues to Rock Your Soul.
I first discovered Wily Bo Walker a few years ago and played several songs on my radio show; but for whatever reason he has gone off my radar until a couple of weeks ago when he made a guest appearance at Trevor Sewell’s album launch at the Cluny, Newcastle. Sadly my recent operation meant I couldn’t go, which was a huge disappointment; then totally out of the blue; this disc arrived via Hemifran in Sweden!
The mini-album/EP opens with a rip-roaring song called Storm Warning; featuring Walker’s whisky and fag stained voice over a host of squealing guitars and a heart stopping rhythm section – that’s my kinda music and I’m in for the long haul!
The pace drops dramatically for a deliciously sleazy adaptation of Loudon Wainwright III’s Motel Blues. A tale of Rock n Roll loneliness with Wily drunkenly seducing a young lady to alleviate the boredom of life on the road.
Loan Me a Dime could easily be Joe Cocker fronting Little Feet in the coolest bar on Highway 61. Dark and sexy; with more than a hint of menace in the lyrics makes it a song for late at night when you are feeling very sorry for yourself.
I Want To Know is the first of Walker’s own songs and it’s a doozy! A rolling New Orleans Blues highlights the eclectic singer; this time coming across as a smooth but heady cocktail of Dr. John, Roger Chapman and (my hero) Eric Burden; and let’s not forget ED Brayshaw’s smoky organ and stinging guitar solos.
Track 5 of 6; is September Red; a deep dark and mysterious song, worthy of a being the theme to one of Michael Connolly’s Harry Bosch novels.
The EP closes with another Walker penned song, the epic Killers on The Run. Coming in at just shy of ten minutes long, this story twists and turns in all directions as some red hot guitar licks come and go like lightning and the drums and bass could pass for thunder.
Released May 2015
The Rocking Magpie 