Walking on Fire

Kenny Neal | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B0000009ZW
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,217 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

Neal's nastily sharp guitar first scythed a path across blues America upon the release of Big News from Baton Rouge in 1987. That release and 1989's Devil Child, equally enjoyable items in the Alligator catalog demonstrated however that bluesman Raful Neal's eldest had more in mind than the same old reheated riffs. Walking on Fire has his hefty, mature vocals and alert guitar radiating earthy moods rather than flamboyant dispassion on strong material flattered (like the two earlier albums) by the soul blues production of Bob Greenlee-only this time the horns are inspired by two ex- James Brown zealots. In sharp relief are two country blues that Neal has built around poems by Langston Hughes, whose work he had embraced as a cast member of Broadway's Mule Bone. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars. A nice listen, May 15, 2005

By 

Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking on Fire (Audio CD)

You can't go wrong with any of multi-instrumentalist Kenny Neal's excellent Alligator records, and this one is no exception.
"Walking On Fire" is not quite as consistent as its excellent predecessor, "Devil Child", but even Kenny Neal's worst album is good, and this one is not it.

Not everybody will appreciate Neal having hired James Brown's Horny Horns to back him on about half of these twelve tracks, but most of the time the horns works very well, and even those who like their blues horn-less and gritty should appreciate the two fine acoustic numbers "Morning After" and "Bad Luck Card" and the horn-less "My Only Good Thing". And if you do happen to like a bit of sax-and-trombone on top of your blues, well, the delicate "I Been Missing You" and the soulful "I.O.U" utilizes them to maximum effect.

This is very consistent record. Not every song is great, but there is not real a clunker among the lot, and one of the things that make Neal so good is his ability to mix acoustic country blues with modern, soul-flavoured R&B and sound equally convincing either way. And songs like "Caught In The Jaws Of A Vise" and "The Truth Hurts" rank among Kenny Neal's best.

Neal plays some fine lead guitar on this album, and lays down a couple of very good harp solos, particularly on "Bad Luck Card", the slow burner "Things Got To Get Better", and "Caught In The Jaws Of A Vise" which features a very effective harmonica/horns combination.
If you don't own any of Kenny Neal's albums, I'd start with "Deluxe Edition" or "Hoodoo Moon", but they're all good, really...

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad from a lightweight, January 24, 2002

By 

Bob Davis (Christchurch New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking on Fire (Audio CD)

Generally Kenny Neal has failed to live up to his early promise. This album however is actually quite good. Here his harmonica and guitar produce some memorable moments. My favourites are the two acoustic numbers 'Morning after' and 'Bad luck card'. In addition the slow blues 'I put my trust in you' is outstanding despite the need to add occasional horns. The album also benefits from the keyboards of Lucky Peterson. His diversity is shown by 'My own good things' with some low down gut guitar playing. My frustration is highlighted by 'I been missing you, too' which has some talented guitar but ends up sounding like a big band sound. If he had just played the blues and dispensed with the brass this could have been a brilliant album.