Matty T Wall Transpacific Blues Vol. 1

Matty T Wall
Transpacific Blues Vol. 1
Hipsterdumpster Records

Australian blues-rocker Matty T. Wall is a new name to this listener. He is heard here on eight familiar numbers. His guitar and vocals are supported by Stephen Walker on bass guitar and Ric Whittle on bass. There are guest appearances on five of the songs by Dave Hole, Eric Gales, Kid Ramos, Walter Trout, and Kirk Fletcher. Except for Hole, the guest performers are from the USA. This is likely the reason for 'Transpacific' in the album title.

Wall impresses as a guitarist and a singer. He sings with clarity and nuance, and his sizzling guitar is pretty strong by itself as heard on his rendition of "Stormy Monday," with Walker and Whittle providing a firm rhythmic base. The covers here generally don't stray too far from the source material as on the boogie blues of the opening cover of "Boom Boom." Dave Hole is present here, although his frenetic guitar is a bit too dense for taste. Eric Gale provides fireworks on the cover of Tommy Tucker's "High Heel Sneaker." Kid Ramos guests on "Quicksand," an old Guitar Slim recording that Albert Collins covered. Ramos' guitar is terrific behind Wall's personal, pleading singing. This song is followed by "She's Into Something," with Walter Trout adding some guitar sizzle. I like the feel Wall provides on his cover of Albert King's hit "Born Under a Bad Sign," on a track also featuring Kirk Fletcher as a guitarist. Wall slows down the tempo of Freddie King's "I'm Tore Down" with some high energy playing to complement a strong vocal.

The closing rendition of "Crossroads" is too rocked out for these ears. Otherwise, Matty T Wall engaged this listener with his singing and his bluesy guitar. The guests on this CD are a bonus, which adds to this recording's appeal.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is a video of Matty T Wall talking about this recording.