Albums That Deserve Another Listen
Phillip Walker - The Bottom Of The Top (Playboy Records PB 118)
There weren't many blues albums issued during the early 1970s that hit harder than this one. First released in 1973 on the short-lived Playboy logo, the album firmly established Walker as a blistering axeman sporting enduring Gulf Coast roots despite his adopted L.A. homebase. Of all the times he's cut the rocking "Hello My Darling," this is indeed the hottest, while his funky, horn-driven revival of Lester Williams' "I Can't Lose With the Stuff I Use" and his own R&B-drenched "It's All in Your Mind" are irresistible. After-hours renditions of Sam Cooke's "Laughing & Clowning" and Long John Hunter's "Crazy Girl" are striking vehicles for Walker's twisting, turning guitar riffs and impassioned vocal delivery.
Tracks:
Tin Pan Alley
Hello Central
Hello, My Darling
Laughing & Clowning
Crazy Girl
It's All In Your Mind
The Bottom Of The Top
Hey, Hey, Baby's Gone
Crying Time
Musicians:
Phillip Walker (guitar,vocals), Dennis Walker, Charles Jones, Curtis Johnson (bass), Johnny Tucker, Glen McTeer (drums), Nat Dove, Teddy Reynolds, Arthur Woods, Teddy Vaughn (keys), Bea Bopp Walker (vocals), Freeman Lacy, Samuel Cross, Ike Williams, David Li, Joel Peskin, Chops Anthony, Sammy Coleman (horns).
Recording Dates: September 3, 1969 - August 10, 1972
Recording Locations: Edorado Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Harmony Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Joliet Studio, Vault Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
