After A While - Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra
New Release 9-15-17
BDR CD 109
AFTER A WHILE, by Wee Willie Walker and The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, is an album of great music, plain and simple. Great music. This is a stand alone CD, no comparisons, no peers. If comparisons must be made, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and Otis Redding might come to mind. The eight originals are fresh as are the five covers. AFTER A WHILE debuts Wee Willie Walker’s talents as a co-writer, and coproducer. The honest collaboration between Walker and Paule gives listeners a musical feast for the heart and soul.
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If Nothing Ever Changes
On his most recent release, If Nothing Ever Changes, Willie exhibits his mastery of the soul idiom. Opening with the catchy Miami soul song, “Read Between The Lines,” Walker can be an all-seeing spirited sage and then become the rogue in the Bobby Rush number, “I’ve Been Watching You.” Willie then comes back and interprets, “Not That I Care” a classic country song written by the great Cindy Walker, and makes one wonder why Ray Charles didn’t put it on either of his “Modern Sounds In Country & Western” LPs. Producer Rick Estrin’s “Is That It,” slides Willie into an uptown groove, which Walker handles with ease. His derision in that number is as believable as his heartache in the Cindy Walker song. His ability to convey the nuances of attitude and emotion between those two compositions are an example of Willie’s prowess as a soul singer.
Willie and the band take their stab on the bent, “Funky Way,” a lesser-known gem by Georgia born Calvin Arnold. Once again, Willie is acting as an ambassador of the South, spreading the honey. Walker reaches further east than Georgia, crossing the ocean and taking on the Beatles’ “Help” with the aid of west coaster Curtis Salgado. Back in 1967, Willie cut “Ticket To Ride” for Goldwax, so this isn’t really uncharted territory.But where Walker is really in the pocket are on the two Eddie Hinton songs, “Everybody Meets Mr. Blue,” and “Hymn for Lonely Hearts.” Hinton too was drenched in southern soul. The pairing of Eddie’s songs and Willie’s voice go together like biscuits and gravy.
(by Mike Elias, Barely Brothers Records. St. Paul, Minnesota)
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Live on Highway 55 - Paul Metsa & Willie Walker
Here's what you've got: two industry vets who've racked up more miles than a fleet of gypsy cabs; a batch of songs that have been etched into the collective consciousness as seminal hits, and then diminished by overexposure and karaoke indiginty; and cover art that evokes the nostalgia of getting kicks on Route 66........Walker & Metsa alchemize these elements into an entirely fresh and joyful road trip......
Live on Highway 55 press release Maximum Folk 1035/2013
Right Where I Belong
One On One 761955/2004
Memphisapolis
Haute 1110/2006
Long Time Thing
Haute 1111/2011
Willie Walker
Haute 1108/2002
Hoochin' With Larry
Semaj Music 199713/2008
Twin Cities Funk & Soul
Secret Stash Records 25/2012
Ticket To Ride
b/w There Goes My Used To Be
Goldwax 329/1967
A Lucky Loser
b/w Warm To Cool To Cold
Checker 1211/1968
You Name It, I've Had It
b/w You're Running Too Fast
Checker 1198/1968
Not In My Lifetime is the final recording of soul legend Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra. After releasing singles on the Checker and Goldwax labels, Wee Willie Walker stayed close to his home in Minneapolis for decades. Re-emerging in 2015 on the national and international scene, Willie has released three critically acclaimed albums. Not In My Lifetime is the fourth. Only three days after the recording sessions wrapped up, Willie passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. For this reason the release is bittersweet, but a fitting addition to Walker's legacy. He finished on a high note...literally. Produced by the legendary Jim Gaines.