Walter Trout and the Radicals: Relentless - The Concert

Rating:
Summary: BUY IT-YOU WON'T BE SORRY
Review: I became a instant Walter Trout fan 1 month ago,with the purchase of this concert on CD.I like the blues and man this guy can flat out play 'em.I have since went crazy and have bought this DVD and just about all the other CD's.I personally find his lyrics refreshing,uplifting and mature.I am now a BIG FAN...BUY IT!!!

Rating:
Summary: A great look at a "soon to be" legend
Review: I can hardly believe the slam review written by "Blues Hammer". I'll admit I'm a huge Trout fan and have seen him perform on every tour through the Midwest since my first taste back in 97 or 98.

There are a lot of variations in what is considered Blues, but I find Walter's original songs and performance skills unique and all his own. Walter will do some classics, but he never settles for re-hashing a bunch of old tunes just to get a CD out. Walter has a sound and a style there that I just don't hear from anyone else.

I think anyone who has a history with Walter Trout will find this DVD contains a great cross section of his music performed the way it sounds best, live and fresh. For newcomers it's a front row seat to a great concert.

Whether it's the up front, in your face style of "I'm Tired", the soulful ballad "Jericho Road", or the blue-collar "Best You Got" it's Walter and the boys on stage performing some great new tunes. Throw in the excellent sound and camera work in one of the band's favorite venues and you have a great live performance worth watching over and over again.

It's a definite must have for Walter fans, or for anyone who enjoys some original contemporary blues music with a little "attitude".

Rating:
Summary: Blues Hammer
Review: I'll give two stars for enthusiasm. But that's the best I can do. And it's generous.
I don't want to be harsh to such a likable guy. But I have to be honest.

Subtle as a Dump Truck. Nuanced as a Sawzall. Repetitive, cliched, repetitive, cliched and repetitive. Yea, he burns. But it's the same phrasing over, and over, and over. Like a shallow conversation with someone who wont stop making small talk for hours on end. And that's just the guitar playing. The songs are worse. WT's "heart on his sleeve" lyrics are like Jr. High Poetry. It's hard to find fault with immaturity. We were all kids once. But coming from a seasoned veteran and grizzled road warrior, this stuff is not exactly cleaver or captivating. I would expect more wisdom from a man of his experience. His sincerity shines. His lack of imagination reeks.

Modern Blues is by definition "derivative." But W.T. demonstrates a lack of imagination and vision that even his enthusiasm can't make up for. He plays like a high pressure fire hose. Full on. All the time. Did I mention repetitive? Entertaining in small doses. But try as I might I just can't sit through the entire set. Walter Trout is a very likable guy. And he clearly loves what he is doing. But his music is one dimensional. If I were to sum this DVD up in one word it would have to be "boring."

If you like this kind of artist I would strongly recommend checking out the FREE concert DVD included in Joe Bonamassa's "So it's like that." I'd give that CD 3 stars, but the FREE DVD is jaw dropping from beginning to end. It blows this one out of the water.

Rating:
Summary: Relentless Is Awesome! AAA+++
Review: This DVD is a must have. Wonderfully done, picture and sound quality A+! Walter Trout is one of the finest guitar players in the world and he shows it on this DVD.Along with his extraordinary playing are his vocals that are fantastic. The band with him is awesome, Joey Parfumi on drums and Jimmy Trapp playing bass really lay down the groove while Sammy tears it up on organ. I ordered two to give out for xmas, I'm ordering another because this is just so good my son's guitar teacher has to get one too. This is an awesome DVD! Buy It!!!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely brilliant .... a must have!!!!!!
Review: This DVD release is the extended and unabashed version of the CD of the same name. Marie Trout (Walter's wife) woke up one night and decided that it might be an idea to, instead of just working on a new CD, to take the idea out into a venue (in this case, the famous Paradiso Club in Amsterdam) and record it live in front of an appreciative studio audience.

Walter has always sounded better in the flesh, so this is a great idea and really showcases his abilities in a way not afforded by a mere studio album. The DVD features extra tracks such as Dust My Broom and some of his previous songs but both versions feature his now trademark '73 Fender Strat screaming and tearing through a great setlist.

He also gets to play acoustic guitar on a couple of tracks, namely 'Lonely Tonight' and the spiritual 'Jericho Road' where Walter plays some beautiful unplugged solo parts, as well as a custom-made Vigier electric guitar that adds a different feel to the more rocky tracks. What's evident here is the sensitivity of the man, which sometimes gets lost on his regular outings, a sense of light and shade and of balancing out the various sides of his personality. It also shows that there is very little in the way of sweetening up and that what you hear on an album (as is evidenced here) is Walter and the Boys.

The whole show is infused with Walter's untamed and incendiary musicianship. There are a plenty of introductions to songs, so you get the background to them. There is even a joke told by Jimmy Trapp, imitating the great Saul Liebermann. The band are in great spirits throughout and there is no holding back from any of them at all, they play their hearts out and it's no wonder really, as the Paradiso is Walter's favourite venue on Planet Earth.

The extras feature a Backstage Pass where Walter shows us (among many things) a self-flushing toilet and talking hand drier. There are a couple of bonus tracks and a chance to meet the band and what a great bunch of fellas they are too. Plus, there is an interview with Walter, carried out by his 'lovely wife Marie' at the very end. All in all, this DVD will satisfy any self-respecting WT fan, packed as it is to the rafters with great songs, great humour and a real sneak peek at the great man himself.