Victor Wainwright and the Train: Memphis Loud
Victor Wainwright and the Train
Memphis Loud
(Ruf Records)
Grammy nominated Victor Wainwright and his six piece band The Train stretch out and push the limits on their new album Memphis Loud released in April 2020. The ,Winner of the B.B King Entertainer of the Year Award, singer songwriter and keyboardist could have rested on his laurels and given us a standard Blues album but instead chose to show off the full force of the group’s talents and instrumental prowess on this far-reaching ,dynamic collection of 12 original songs. Recorded at Music and Arts Studios in Memphis,by Dave Gross, the new tracks push the boundaries and mesh genres together in a sonic stew of funk, Americana, Jazz, Blues, Jam and power Soul. The session was driven by Wainwright’s muscular piano, soaring vocals, and heartfelt contemplative lyrics. He sings about joy and pain, heartache and redemption and even his good old hound dog, leaving few stones unturned, with the band playing as a whirling dervish of frenzied energy behind him.
The Savanna Georgia born artist sings the praises of all things from the South on the opening track “Mississippi,” and the horn section delivers blazing lines on the rousing “Walk The Walk.” The highly orchestrated title track, “Memphis Loud,” with its cinematic landscape and it’s follow up, the New Orleans nocturne simply titled “Sing,” are both complex big band style numbers that could’ve come from the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Wainwright pushes the emotional boundaries on the expansive ballad “Disappear,” and very personal testimony during the epic finale “Reconcile.” Then asks everyone to look within during the provocative anthem “America.” He and The Train do you have some fun drawing inspiration from Otis Redding’s “Can’t Turn Me Loose,” for the horn line that drives the energetic time shifting track “Golden Rule,” and then poke fun at hard luck and trouble found at the “South End Of A Northbound Mule.” The celebration of his best friend” My Dog Riley,” finds him singing with pure joy and delivering superb barrel house piano. Memphis Loud from Victor Wainwright and The Train clearly demonstrate why they are seven time Blues Music Award winners in a compelling new album that is sure to bring them more acclaim.