Earlier in his career, singer-songwriter-guitarist Seth Walker came across as a bluesman adorned in Americana clothing. He’s since evolved into one who lays down warm, infectious, relaxing grooves that integrate many strains of music for soothing listening. That approach is so evident on his latest Why the Worry. In short, he is one soulful cat with a smooth and warm voice.
This is the fifth time that Walker has worked with co-producers Jano Rix and engineer Brook Sutton. It’s more than fair to say these three have found a formula that works and they continue to stay with it, smoothing out any few remaining rough edges. The album is an evenly split mix of originals and covers rendered by Walker’s core band of multi-instrumentalist Rhees Williams and drummer Mark Raudabaugh Jr. Assisting them are Rix on a variety of instruments, Matt Glassmeyer on saxophones and Kelly Mickwee on background vocals. Others step in on select tracks.
The album title is the mantra for the record. They proceed somewhere between a peppy gait and a languorous stroll throughout the originals and covers. Covers are from Bill Withers, two from JJ Cale, Al Green, contemporary Michael Kiwanuka, and Bobby Charles. Two originals are co-written with Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers and Ed Jurdi of the Band of Heathens, respectively. We’ll take the originals first.
The title track is a collaboration with Wood, a slow saunter punctuated by stinging guitar and a gospel-like chorus – “Why worry/Only God knows the end of your story.” Walker’s “Up on the Mountain” is a slice of greasy funk, nodding to joy of Walker’s home in the mountains outside of Asheville. The snappy “Supernatural Thing” is plays to a lighter but equally as infectious funk groove driven by Sutton’s electric bassline. “Hey Baby” stays in this territory, a natural foot-tapping tune infused with guest JP Ruggieri’s slicing slide guitar and Glassmeyer’s swelling saxophones. “Midway Girl,” co-written with Jurdi, is a softer ballad imbued with vibraphone, resonating keyboards, and sharp guitar, reading almost like late-night jazz with Walker singing so softly (maybe too softly) in this meditative ditty. His vocals come up more prominently in the dreamy “Somewhere Out There,” featuring a soft bed of multiple keys from Williams and Rix and warm harmonies from Mickwee.
While taking the originals and covers separately doesn’t do justice to the sequencing, in this case the grooves are so steady throughout that the two are very compatible. The album opener is Bill Withers’ “The Same Love That Made Me Laugh,” with a hand-clapped, gently funked take from the band, tasty guitar licks, and keys supporting Walker’s blissful vocal. Michael Kiwanuka’s “I’m Getting Ready” from his album Home Again struck Walker when he was reeling from the floods that devastated Asheville and the surrounding communities, especially the line “Oh, Lord, I’m getting ready to believe.” The theme of the song helped Walker regain some resilience. On his interpretation, his classically trained father, Scott, provides the string arrangement. Of course, we’ve all heard Al Green’s “Take Me to the River “ countless times, many of us fixated on The Talking Heads version. Compared to that one and most others, the groove here is distinctly laid back, with the tune being taken at a whisper rather than a shout.
Walker’s relaxed sound has much in common with JJ Cale’s infamous Tulsa shuffle, and it’s only natural that Walker takes two from Cale’s catalog. “Hey Baby” plays to that simple, irresistible backbeat. At the same time, “Magnolia,” perhaps Cale’s best song, evokes sipping iced tea (or any cold beverage) on a sunny, breezy afternoon and rings ever so slightly brighter than Cale’s but somehow lacks the emotional depth of the original. Some classics, “Take Me to the River “ included, are best left untouched. Interestingly, “Magnolia” is slated to appear in Matt Andersen’s forthcoming “The Hammer and the Rose,” due later this month. Walker’s album concludes in a similar love-infused mood (“I saw a butterfly & named it after you”) with Bobby Charles’ “I Must Be in a Good Place Now.” You, too, will likely settle into this comfortable state of mind when listening.
