Here Comes The Flood: 7 Walkers: 7 Walkers

photo: Jay Blakesberg

You can't teach an old dogs new tricks. Stick to what you know, even when it's out of fashion. True quality never goes tout of style, even when the mainstream is flowing in the opposite direction. 7 Walkers, founded by guitarist Papa Mali and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, is a blues band with a heavy dose of NOLA vibe. With George Porter, Jr. and Reed Matthis on bass and multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard on harmonica, keys and trombone, they have made a self-titled album that will be riding high on this year's best traditional albums.

They enlisted long time Grateful Dead wordsmith Robert Hunter to take care of the lyrics, making it yet another branch of the extended Dead related musical tree. The band traveled to Papa Mali's hometown Austin, TX, to lay down the tracks on analog tape at The Nest. The natural echo of that studio is a big plus, adding depth to vocals and enhancing the drums. The album is a loose tribute to the spirit of New Orleans. Hunter came up with pretty basic lyrics, with lots of repeats, allowing the music penned by Mali to twist and turn. Willie Nelson guests on vocals and guitar for King Cotton Blues. He holds back, shelving his country twang and falling in step with Mali's Southern blues drawl. The latter is best experienced during New Orleans Crawl and Evangeline.