Preacher and the President

Last updated
Preacher and the President
Preacher and the President.jpg
Studio album by
Released1998
Studio Muscle Shoals Sound
Genre Blues
Label Verve
Producer Steve Cropper, Joe Louis Walker
Joe Louis Walker chronology
Great Guitars
(1997)
Preacher and the President
(1998)
Silvertone Blues
(1999)

Preacher and the President is an album by the American musician Joe Louis Walker, released in 1998 through Verve Records. [1] [2] Walker supported the album with a North American tour, backed by the Bosstalkers. [3] [4] The album was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award. [5]

Contents

Production

Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the album was produced by Steve Cropper. [6] [7] Walker wrote nine of the album's 10 songs. [8] He was backed by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. [9] The title track references Jimmy Swaggart and Bill Clinton. [10] "Uhh!" is a cover of the Dyke and the Blazers song. [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Age Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-neither.png [14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Knight Ridder A [11]
The Tampa Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]

The Age opined that "Joe Louis demonstrates on the pleading 'Tell the Truth' and the profoundly emotional 'Yveline' why he is one of the few major blues finds of the past decade." [12] The Chicago Tribune wrote that, "if the vocals and fretwork on the LP smolder rather than sear, the soulful songcraft is still first-rate." [17] The Washington Post noted that the album "offers an appealing view of his extroverted showmanship and his considerable growth as a songwriter who knows how to provoke an audience's laughter and sympathy." [18]

The Toronto Star stated that "Walker's songwriting is fine, his fancy backup sophisticated." [19] The Chicago Reader concluded that Walker "approaches the suave urbanity of Al Green or Lionel Richie." [20] The Advocate deemed Walker "an American roots music master." [21] The Chicago Sun-Times listed Preacher and the President among the 10 best blues albums of 1998. [22]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Preacher and the President" 
2."Yveline" 
3."Repay My Love" 
4."I'm Not Messin' Around" 
5."Y&T" 
6."Lyin' in the Name of Love" 
7."Pride of a Fool" 
8."Uhh!" 
9."Tell the Truth" 
10."My Real Fantasy" 

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