Seth Walker’s First Live LP ‘Live At Mauch Chunk Opera House’ Proves Distinctive (ALBUM REVIEW)

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Seth Walker’s music, a fusion of style at the flash-point of blues and country, is that very distinctive sort difficult, if not impossible to categorize, much less pigeonhole with ease. As a result, this songwriter, musician and bandleader must rely on the inexorable process he’s followed for many years now, recording and touring to make inroads with the public that will (hopefully) eventually recognize the virtues within his work.

For those who’ve missed Walker in concert, perhaps most recently when he toured in 2016 as the opener for the Wood Brothers (whose Jano Rix produced that year’s studio effort Gotta Get Back, like this title, also on Royal Potato Family Records), there is now Live At Mauch Chunk Opera House. Not exactly a follow-up to the title, it nevertheless documents how Seth translates his broad grasp of musical influences to the spontaneity of the stage. With a selection of songs spanning two decades and nine studio albums, this title serves as a spiritual companion piece to the previous release because it radiates much the same sense of warmth and camaraderie, between artist and audience as much as within the ensemble.

As recounted by Walker in his charmingly offhanded liner notes inside the digipak, the recording from which this album derives was completed by the venue itself without any advance notice to him and his band. And yet, even had it been planned, the modified reggae rhythm of “Tomorrow” could hardly be a better opening gambit. The audience that makes the first sound heard here, and those listening via CD or digital download, will most assuredly slip deep into the near-booming groove Seth and his band establish there and likewise be more than willing to follow at the more snappy clip of the quartet on “Fire In The Belly.”

“Grab Ahold” is an even more overt invitation, its devotional passion well-nigh irresistible in the playing of the foursome—besides Seth on guitar, the quartet includes bassist Miles Weeks, keyboardist Stefano Intelisano and drummer Eric Kalb. Fortunately or not, the other ten tracks (including band intros) pass in equally quick succession, but there is a discernible ebb and flow to this overall performance, suggesting how much savvy thought went into comprising the setlist.

“Call My Name” elevates Seth Walker’s intrinsic positivism to an even higher level, an air rising on both the swell of the organ and the emphatic motion of the rhythm section; references to a performance ‘like church’ have long since become cliched, but this North Carolina man and his comrades here restore the truth to the truism, in large measure because they don’t commit the sin of trying too hard. As a result, the group doesn’t belabor the somewhat somber mood of that cull from Gotta Get Back.

Instead, the man and his kindred instrumentalist spirits embark on the suitably-titled “High Time,” complete with quick, crowd-pleasing breaks from each individual that equitably reinforce their contributions elsewhere. Along similar lines, the inclusion of “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” credibly highlights the ease of the frontman’s vocal delivery: keep in mind this tune’s been sung by the legendary likes of Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson.

Like many of his collaborative compositions, “2′ Left to the Ceiling” is a song by which Seth Walker simultaneously revisits past experience(s) even as he looks to revitalize new (and future) ones. Meanwhile, the frisky hop of “Way Past Midnight” lends continuity to Live at Mauch Chunk Opera House. As a reliable measure of a musician who can function equally forcefully on stage as in the studio, Walker’s very first live album was worth waiting for and savoring as such.

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