The Night Walkers - Walkin' With Friends (2020)

Personnel:
Jens Turowski (guitar, vocals)
Roger C. Wade (harmonica, vocals)

With:
Jack O Roonie (bass - # 1,3,4-7,10,11)
Andre Werkmeister (drums - # 1,3,4,6,10,11)
Ferdinand Kraemer (mandola - # 9)
Marion Wade ( piano - # 2,4, organ - # 3)
Gary Winters (trumpets - # 13, horn arrangements)
Tommy Schneller (saxophone - # 13)

This is the duo's second and last CD featuring Roger C. Wade and Jens Turowski. Jens unfortunately died unexpectedly on August 18, 2020 and these recordings will be released posthumously.

There are quite a few friends of the duo who have helped shape" Walkin 'With Friends ". Jack O Roonie (Shakedown Tim & The Rhythm Revue) plucks the bass on eight of the thirteen songs. Drummer Andre Werkmeister is known from BB And The Blues Shacks. The mandola player in "My Love And Pride" is Ferdinand Kraemer aka Mr. Jelly Roll (Black Patti).
Marion Wade ( Little Roger & The Houserockers ) can be heard in three songs on the piano and the organ. Gary Winters and Tommy Schneller are the horn section of "Give Me My Heart Back".

Wonderfully grooving rock'n'roll, garnished with a great slide ride, greets the listener in a captivating way right from the start.
In addition to the great arrangement, "My Everday Sins" not only features fine vocals but also the Jack O Roonie bass, which is gently pumping without ceasing . Infectious album opening!
The other bookend from "Walkin 'With Friends" is "Give Me My Heart Back".
At a moderate pace, The Night Walkers and the Gary Winters / Tommy Schneller blower department perform a timelessly beautiful, heartbreaking blues serenade. After this reverent number the album comes to an end, but this Jens Turowski / Gary Winters/ Tommy Schneller -Composition, you allow another round and another round before the very last note. Highlight!

The duo and their guests answer the question about other highlights of the present record in a multi-layered way.
For example, "Cards On The Table" is a rustic twelve-bar ballad in which the singing is refined by effects. Garnished with the finest solo efforts of the electric guitar and harp, it only takes a little persuasiveness, so to speak, to include this track among the highlights.
Together with Marion Wade on piano, "Long Day Slide" is also one of those seductive slow blues pieces, this time performed as an instrumental.

For the recordings for the album, it was decided to use three cover songs.
RL Burnside's "Poor Black Maddie" is very down to earth, has a great groove even without drums and here Roger C. Wade with his pulpit fantasies is in the foreground. Excellent!
"Boogie Chillen" gives the listener goose bumps. Fascinating how at this point only the duo provides a wonderful moment to pause. Who sets the beat is not listed, but the winning factors are the vocals and again the guitars and harp variations. Lovely! The Night Walkers do together with Ferdinand Kraemer at the Mandolaa very successful excursion into the musical country. Juke joint vibes are all the rage.
The song title "Rhumba Thunder" is meaningful enough to determine in which direction you are moving competently.

"Walkin 'With Friends" is excellent.
The fact that there won't be another The Night Walkers release is just as sad as the death of Jens Turowski.
Without a special bonus, this album is a piece of carpet for the The Night Walkers- Blues shop window, which is known to be passed by many fans.
Stay healthy and make time to enjoy good music as a distraction. ~Joachim 'Joe' Brookes