Walter Trout Releases New Video ‘Heartland’

Blues/rock guitarist, singer-songwriter Walter Trout has produced the first official music video of his career-a half century in the making. The song is from his upcoming album, Ordinary Madness, out August 28 on Provogue/Mascot Label Group.

“Heartland” is a song about summoning the courage to follow your dreams. It’s the story of a young girl but she could be anyone who has come to a crossroads in their life. She realizes that to follow her dream to make more of her life, requires stepping out alone, into the vast unknown. It’s about taking the great gamble.” – Walter Trout

Produced by Eric Corne, Ordinary Madness was recorded at a private studio owned by legendary Doors guitarist Robby Krieger.

“Heartland” is so heartfelt, a triumph for Trout and his vocals and songwriting chops. We all know about Trout’s guitar prowess—he’s a guitar virtuoso with soul. Check out his guitar solo in this video.

In my interview with Walter Trout he said, “Heartland” is about somebody who’s not satisfied with their life who wants more and realizes that they have to go seek it out to make it happen.”

Watch “Heartland”

 
For Walter Trout, there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’. Across his five-decade career, the great U.S. bluesman’ s music has always been a lifeline and call-to-arms, reminding listeners they are not alone. Now, as the world seeks solace from a tragedy that has touched us all, he comes armed with a boundary-exploring new studio album and eleven searingly honest songs that bring his fans even closer. “There’s a lot of extraordinary madness going on right now,” considers Trout, of the COVID-19 crisis. “This album started because I was dealing with the flaws and weakness inside me. But it ended up being about everyone.”

Ordinary Madness was completed mere days before the U.S. shutdown, its cathartic songcraft and themes of shared troubles couldn’t chime better with a period in which our souls and spirits are under fire from tumultuous global events.

Admirably open about his troubled youth, and his own ongoing struggles with mental health, the bluesman had spent recent tours soothing himself by scribbling down his thoughts and feelings. It was only later he realized he’d just written the most honest lyric-sheet of his career – and felt he had an opportunity to let fans share and identify with him. “Everybody is dealing with something,” he says. “And I’m no different from anybody else. Ordinary Madness doesn’t mean you’re gonna end up in a mental institution. It’s just being human. It’s common humanity.”

Trout’s formative blues influences are well-documented, spanning from Paul Butterfield’s 1965 self-titled debut alongside Mike Bloomfield to John Mayall’s seminal 1966 ‘Beano’ LP with Eric Clapton. But as he cut his teeth in New Jersey, the young guitarist was also drawn to the maverick songwriters, taking in The Beatles, Dylan and Neil Young’s Crazy Horse. At every step of his career – moving to California in ’74 to back up giants like John Lee Hooker, joining Canned Heat and Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in the ’80s, then flying solo in 1989 – the stockpile of songs kept growing.

This time around, Trout is doing things a little differently. Led in by an electronic intro created by eldest son Jon Trout, the song sets off on a hypnotic groove with a gloriously languid guitar break that’s anything but autopilot blues. “I’ve broken the pinkie on my left hand three times in the past year,” remembers Trout, “so the guitar playing on this album took a little work, and there’s some anger and frustration in some of the solos. I really like that solo on the title track. It took two or three re-takes. But I think I nailed it.”

From that jump-off, a career-best album spilled out, as Trout convened his band of Michael Leasure (drums), Johnny Griparic (bass) and Teddy ‘Zig Zag’ Andreadis (keys) – along with long-time producer Eric Corne, plus special guests Skip Edwards, Drake ‘Munkihaid’ Shining and Anthony Grisham.

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