BILLY WALTON BAND – Wish For What You Want (2015)

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From the fruitful New Jersey shore line comes a band worth spending your leisure time on; the BILLY WALTON BAND.
They’ve taken the long way round with 4 albums and an EP already under their belt, but their just released “Wish For What You Want” is my first meeting with the guys, where they have nailed a true, soulful Classic Rock bluesy style.

The emphasis is on strong songs, deep grooves, Billy’s confident vocal performance and his subtle tone colours, while the band’s sparkling interplay is framed by a top class production from Tony Braunagel and a crisp mix by the famed John Porter.
Above all, “Wish For What You Want” shows a well oiled band with tons of feeling complete with a cool guitar work and a warm keyboard playing, while the magnificent horn section of Ian Gray & Sean Marks fits perfectly into a succession of tight arrangements that are given a solid foundation by rigorous rhythm section of drummer Johnny D’Angelo and bassist William Paris.

Mike Finnegan’s Hammond B3 feature sets the standard on the opening title cut and Billy responds with a deep solo over a fabulous horn arrangement and some climatic band interplay.
And then of course there’s the fast growing songwriting partnership of Billy Walton and Randy Friel. Friel produced the band’s previous album, and his lyrics lock in perfectly with Billy’s bristling style.
On this first track you know these guys sound like a real tight unit when you hear the subtle drop-down in the middle: only musicians that have been together for a while can produce such great spark.

After this really good opener, the album as a whole also stretches their musical horizons, with elements of rocking funk, soul, bluesy hard rock and simply great songs.
“True Lovin Man” is a perfect example, being a classic rocker driven by a lovable melody with real commercial possibilities and it’s matched by the soulful, piano led “Til Tomorrow”.
The Billy Walton Band explore a musical equilibrium that suites their style without sacrificing their natural exuberance. And when they do rock out as on “‘Come On Up”, they suitably build up the tension and then resolve it with a tightly wrapped, clean toned solo from Billy.

There’s a down-home number in “Blues Comes A Knockin’”, which is neatly juxtaposed by “Forgive And Forget”, a killer funky groove with a Hendrix style sculpted wah-wah solo and powerful horn lines.
We have a change of pace and tone on the atmospheric “Change”, which is built on a John D’Angelo neat drum pattern. It’s a reflective piece on which Billy’s voice is mixed slightly back as he contributes a nicely distorted solo.
He switches to slide on “Worried Blues” a meditative piece on contemporary times that could have been extended, while “Hudson County Star”, despite written in a quite American style, sounds pretty British.

The Billy Walton band is a powerhouse outfit that operates within soulful, funky and bluesy classic rock & roll parameters, and “Wish For What You Want” is a mature and convincing piece of work.
Billy Walton and his guys effortlessly weave in and out of the groove. Their solid and entertaining songs fuses spark and polish to great effect.
“Wish For What You Want” is an aptly titled CD, as the band could surely not have asked for a better circumstances; they will be touring all over Europe the next four months presenting this really good slab of Classic Rock.
Very Recommended.

01 – Wish For What You Want
02 – True Lovin’ Man
03 – Mountain
04 – Come On Up
05 – Blues Comes A Knockin’
06 – Forgive And Forget
07 – Change
08 – Worried Blues
09 – Till Tomorrow
10 – Just To Walk That Little Girl Home
11 – It Don’t Matter
12 – Hudson County Star

Billy Walton – vocals, guitars
Mike Finnegan – keyboards, Hammond B3
Ian Gray, Sean Marks – horns
William Paris – bass, vocals
Johnny D’Angelo – drums, vocals

BUY IT !
www.amazon.com/Wish-What-Want-Billy-Walton/dp/B00R5CSJDG
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