Ed Maly-Walking Shoes Blues

Texas is a breeding ground for the blues and Ed Maly is an integral part of that community. Walking Shoes Blues, his fifth album, is a tribute to his talent for playing the blues and at the same time, he pays tribute to one of the legends Jimi Hendrix on the tracks Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½While His Guitar” and “Guitar Burn.” It never is a surprise for an artist to give the nod to Jimi. Many artists have been paying tribute to the late great one recently. This music lover welcomes these tributes. Where would rock-blues music be without the contributions Hendrix made?

You get plenty of Maly and his band on the 17 tracks offered on this CD. I heard some smokin’ guitars and a tightly knit rhythm section pounding and thumping away behind all of those stinging guitar lines from Ed and Keith Cannon. The opening title track is a great way to kick off this recording. It is the perfect blues-rock song, it chugs along with a lot swagger, cooks with the heat of emotion, and burns with sarcasm. I just loved it. If there is one tune I can see people downloading by the thousands, it is this one. If Ed and his mates are looking for a great hook to get people interested in this entertaining album, they have their tonic right in front of them.

A lot of this music was nostalgic for me, not just because of the Hendrix references, it was songs like “Telepathic Love,” which was blues-rock straight away yet it had that 60s hippy summer of love feel to it. “Candy Cane” was prototypical blues rocker with all the right lyrics sandwiched in between slices of Ed and Keith’s guitar licks. Candy is sweet but naughty too, just listen to the lyrics, it will not take long to get it. I have always enjoyed the innuendo of the blues.

I had a great time listening to this CD; this is party music, recorded in the spirit of the blues for all to have a good time so check out.

Ã?© Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck

September 26, 2006

01. Walking Shoes Blues (3:00)
02. Blue (2:47)
03. While His Guitar (3:01)
04. Susan Jones (2:44)
05. Telepathic Love (1:58)
06. Wheels (2:12)
07. Identity Theft (3:18)
08. Bad Girl (2:37)
09. Guitar Burn (2:32)
10. Something Going Wrong (2:35)
11. Trophy Man (2:27)
12. Rock My World (2:48)
13. Party Tonight (2:21)
14. Candy Cane (2:31)
15. Next Time, Hurt Me (3:22)
16. Statesboro Blues (1:54)
17. Gasoline (2:15)

Credits:

Ed Maly: vocals & guitars
Keith Cannon: lead guitar
Don Irby: bass & vocals
Mike Snelling: drums & vocals