Customer Reviews

We Walk This Road

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is sure to get negative reviews from people who consider themselves die-hard RRFB fans, the people who travel for miles and miles to see their electric performances; I am one of those people who has literally traveled thousands of miles to see them in concert. I also understand what makes a RRFB show unique. The band has an energy that is infectious, they have maybe the funkiest rhythm section on tour today, and a legitimate pedal steel virtuoso in the head man himself. And it's an energy that is impossible to bottle in the studio. They've tried twice before, with very "meh" results. Which is why I'm glad they've made a real studio album this time. I think they've realized after "Unclassified" and "Colorblind" that the studio is not equipped to translate their live energy. Instead, they've taken a good, hard look at their gospel and blues roots and added their own interpretations to some really classic songs. You're not going to pop this CD in at a party, and you're not going to play this in your car. This CD was put together so that you and a couple of buddies can sit around, drink some fine oat sodas, and talk about music. Robert Randolph has really matured on this album. He knows when to lay back and be a part of the song, without having to "be" the song. Nevertheless, there are still some jaw-dropping solos interspersed here and there. I also found the idea of sprinkling the old blues segues in throughout the album. It definitely works for this project. I hope that RRFB starts putting out a lot of their live stuff, as I think they'd win a lot of fans that way, but at the same time, if they're going to be putting out studio albums as well, this is the kind of material they should be striving to put together.

I've only had this album for less than a week, but I can tell it will be a real favorite for a long time. There are some ridiculous complaints that the album is too constrained, as if Robert Randolph should be playing overkill solos in every song he ever creates. I don't think Hendrix, SRV or Clapton ever did that, so to complain that he doesn't go all out with sheer guitar madness in every solo is absurd. This is a sublime album, and it doesn't fit into the cookie cutter music other artists produce where every album fits the same niche and routine. Try listening to 2 different Beck albums and then complain that they don't sound the same, you're missing the point. This is an excellent album, maybe even better than Unclassified, but I've worn that album out listening to it and only time will tell just how great this album will be for me. So far, it is superb!!!

The wonderful thing about Robert Randolph is his ongoing willingness to leap from ledge to ledge as part of his musical platform efforts.
There is Live at the Wetlands, Unclassified, and Colorblind in the past... each feeling like a wholly different experience from the same ever-improving-and-amazing-band.
With each album there has been a divergence and a growth.
We Walk This Road--takes you by the hand and walks you through interpretations of music that existed in the sixty or so years following the Civil War and does so in a way that could make my young son dance and my older dad do the same while reminding us of what has gone before.

Combining Robert Randolph with multi-Grammy producer, songwriter, and musician... T Bone Burnett was a stroke of sheer genius.

You can hear that every facet of the music is Robert Randolph and the Family Band--and yet--you are deeded production values that enhance every aspect of the album from the range of the record being Audiophile Quality to the care taken to bring every nuance to the front.

The whole record is stellar but--there are a few even more exceptional and blindingly beautiful tunes in the midst of all the joy that this album drives through your music player of choice.

*I'm Not Listening, *Don't Change, *Walk Don't Walk, *If I Had My Way, and even John Lennon's *I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama are clear hits on the hoof.

More, like the Aretha Franklin cover of *RESPECT from the Stax hit by Otis Redding, or Eddie Cochran's *Summertime Blues covered by The Who, or The Blind Boys' *Way Down in the Hole redone by Tom Waits, or C.C.R.'s *Proud Mary as done by Ike and Tina Turner--*I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama is now and forever on the list of those killer songs done better as cover tunes than the originators could have imagined. This production (with kind permission and royalties) steals and peddles (steel peddles) a version that takes it away from Lennon for good.

Whether in the Car, on a good set of headphones, at home on mono-amps and an amazing D to A converter, or on a portable audio player--this album carries the day.

It is also a perfect reference quality bit of audio to take with you when you go shopping for a new piece of audio equipment--because T Bone knows The Code to great music and Robert Randolph and the Family Band just keep delivering.

This one is a top-ten rotation for life album.

I'm no music expert,but I know when I like something. I heard the first cut on the radio and went and bought the cd. Every song I like nothing is disappointing to me.
I had never heard of Robert Randolph & the family band before. Now I'm a fan.

Robert Randolph has given us three very different albums in Unclassified, Colorblind, and We Walk This Road. I salute him for constantly changing his sound, and not releasing new material similar to his old. This album has a mid-tempo, roots blues type of feel.

Robert Randolph himself has come a long way over the past Century. His slide playing now does not feature the same old lines we know from Unclassified, but he now plays completely original, different solos. He plays with newfound maturity and drive.
For me, the high point of this CD is the slide solo he plays about 2 minutes and 30 seconds through I Still Belong To Jesus. In that 20 second solo he plays eloquently, creates a musical statement, and ends it in one of the coolest ways ever. He really has evolved as a player.

That said, this is not Robert Randolph and the Family Band. Danyel plays much less than on the other albums, but one misses his slappin' and chordin'. Marcus doesn't play drums on most of the album, and so it is unfair to call it a family band record. They do have some amazing drummers play such as the inimitable Jim Keltner. This is not to say it is worse than a family band record would have been, it should just be called Robert Randolph and the T-Bone Brunette Band.

Don't Change, sung by Danyel, is the most low-down, stuck in the bottom blues I have heard in a while. The guitar at the beginning just punches you in the face, and never lets up. It is simply low down dirty blues transplanted into the 21st Century.

Dry Bones and I'm Not Listening are awesome, more upbeat tracks which are just great. The final track, Salvation, is quite pretty and a nice album finisher. All in all this album is a very worthy buy, particularly if you love the blues.

After the mish-mash of COLORBLIND, I was wondering where Robert and the band would head. Or rather, where the major label would tell them to head. Fortunately, this disc does not disappoint and is a keeper. While certainly no standard studio recording can fully capture live energy, this CD is instead very focused, no doubt thanks to Burnett.(Would that Robert release another record on the order of LIVE AT THE WETLANDS - that one smokes!!!)
It's obvious that some real thought went into WE WALK THIS ROAD; it's even a sort of concept album, and the snippets of old spiritual recordings before the band launches into their own versions only adds to the success.
Yes, a real "feet-stomper" like those on LIVE would have complemented the mid-tempo songs that predominate, but as a whole, this is one fine record. Robert's pedal steel playing seems laid in the mix rather than ridden rough-shod over everything else in a too-gritty sound, but again this gives a burnished copper tint to the whole record that befits the songs. Here's hoping Robert can continue to be successful commercially and musically without being co-opted by his label.

Man...I was really excited to get this yesterday and throw it into my car's CD player and jam while I was driving around, but that didn't happen at all. After every song, I kept saying "maybe the next track is the up-beat song" all the way up to the end of the album. All of the prior RR albums have had several songs that you can tap your feet and nod your head to, but not this one. It's still good....but nothing like the prior stuff. Just a bunch of slow songs. I hope the band doesn't add a lot of these songs to their tour song list, because it will really take away from the exciting RR live show, which I've seen twice.

Overall, a good album/3 stars. I've listened to the entire album 3 times. Just disappointed that this album seemed very slow and unenergetic (to me). I was hoping for another classic RR album to enjoy listening to, but this one will be at the bottom of my CD pile for a good long while. I wish I had got the new live Derek Trucks Band CD instead :)

Super nice sound! A little bit long to come though...Robert Randolph rules! Bluegrass, gospel, funk, all you can listen to is goood quality!

"We Walk This Road" shows a whole new side to Robert Randolph and the family band. Unlike "Live at the Wetlands" this album moves from a soul/rock sound into a more complex retro feeling. They have taken sounds of the early Delta Blues gods and steamrolled them with their sound the way that only Robert Randolph can. Sounds of screaming lightning thunder from the lap steel as beautiful vocal harmonies gel with the bass and drums. It truly is a remarkable hybrid of music that will make you dance sing and cry.

I first heard about this work in a review in Christianity Today, which drew my attention being I've always loved Robert and Family. Then I saw who produced it, T. Boone himself, what a paring for sure. Anything T. Boone gets connected with is a winner. Then you throw in the spiritual/gospel side into it, win-win all the way. I pray they do more work together.