Cool Hand

Little Toby Walker

review by Tony Engelhart

It’s been an impressive year for Little Toby Walker. His self-titled debut garnered great reviews from every blues rag across the country for his original and unique style of song writing and his fluid finger pickin’ style. If that weren’t enough, the singer/songwriter took first place at the Memphis International Blues Challenge of 2002. Toby strikes while the iron is hot with another stellar recording, Cool Hand.

Like his first album, Cool Hand features just the man on a guitar with no overdubs. With only his Martin 00016 Guitar or 1930 National Triolian, Toby plays a variation of stripped down and bare bones blues, folk, ragtime, and country. The complexities of his playing are showcased on the instrumentals ‘Swing Bean’ and ‘Blind Man’s Bluff’. Toby pokes fun at the dot.com trend with the witty ‘Give Me That On-line Religion’. Walker pays homage to Woody Guthrie with a heart-felt interpretation of ‘Going Down The Road Feeling Bad’.

Little Toby Walker’s uniqueness comes from amazing versatility with a limited resource. Each song takes the listener on a journey as Toby tells his stories with an amusing tongue and cheek approach. Cool Hand is a worthy predecessor to Walker’s debut and a must have for traditional blues fans.