UPC 691874264324

The fragile, lost quality in Robert "Bilbo" Walker's bawling-calf voice makes every one of his bleeding-heart numbers, like this live set's "Standing at My Window" and "Why I Sing the Blues," effective. But don't be fooled--he's as tough and wizened as beef jerky from decades of shuttling through the roadhouses between his adopted California and native Mississippi. And while he beats his Stratocaster with a blend of nimble, stuttering picking and howling string bending, always seeming on the edge of losing his tuning or key, Walker is firmly in control of his Chuck Berry-meets-Hank Williams style. Any steadier and he'd ruin the sense of inspiration that charges these tunes and his jagged solos. This disc was recorded in a Chicago club in February 2000, but it sounds like a hot night in a Delta juke joint, thanks in part to the presence of Mississippi rhythm veterans Sam Carr (of the Jelly Roll Kings) on drums and David "Pecan" Porter on bass. This powerful trio ensures modern electric blues gets no rawer than this. --Ted Drozdowski