| Preacher and the President | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Studio | Muscle Shoals Sound | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Label | Verve | |||
| Producer | Steve Cropper, Joe Louis Walker | |||
| Joe Louis Walker chronology | ||||
| ||||
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]
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]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Age |   [12] |
| AllMusic | [13] |
| Robert Christgau |  [14] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [15] |
| Knight Ridder | A [11] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [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]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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" |
Alabama has played a central role in the development of both blues and country music. Appalachian folk music, fiddle music, gospel, spirituals, and polka have had local scenes in parts of Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute's School of Music, especially the Tuskegee Choir, is an internationally renowned institution. There are three major modern orchestras, the Mobile Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra; the last is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in the state, giving its first performance in 1955.
Louis Joseph Walker Jr., known as Joe Louis Walker, is an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his use of older material and playing styles.
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