John Mayall Guests With His Former Bluesbreaker Walter Trout

John Mayall is among a stellar range of  guests appearing on We’re All In This Together, the upcoming album by fellow blues talisman — and former member of Mayall’s Bluesbreakers — Walter Trout (above: Mayall, producer Eric Corne and Trout, photo credit: Marie Trout). 

Due on Provogue/Mascot on 1 September and produced by Eric Corne, its cast of contributors also includes Joe Bonamassa, Edgar Winter, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Warren Haynes, Randy Bachman, Sonny Landreth, Joe Louis Walker, Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Zito, Eric Gales, Robben Ford, John Németh and Walter’s son Jon Trout.

Trout wrote an original song for each of the 14 A-list stars on the album, who were able to make their contributions remotely via current technology. Haynes, Ford and Gales rejoin the frontman after their work together in the recent, all-star Supersonic Blues Machine. 

Mayall hired Trout for the Bluesbreakers in 1985, and now plays harmonica on the album’s ‘Blues For Jimmy T.’ “Am I proud to call myself a former Bluesbreaker?” says Trout. “Yeah, of course. What a credential. That is a very exclusive club, and I know that when I’m gone, that’s gonna be one of the big things that they’ll remember me for: that I was a Bluesbreaker for five years.”

Other highlights of the new album include ‘Gonna Hurt Like Hell,’ the track featuring Shepherd that has been released in advance of the full set; ‘Ain’t Goin’ Back’ with Landreth, ‘She Steals My Heart Away’ with Winter and the closing title track, featuring Bonamassa. Currently on a US tour, Trout starts a European itinerary on 6 October, with 13 UK dates ahead of other shows across the continent.

The contributor list on the album reflects the esteem in which Trout is held by his contemporaries, especially with his return to health after his liver failure and urgent transplant operation. “I feel like I’m in the best years of my life right now,” he says.

“I feel better than I have in years physically. I have more energy. I have a whole different appreciation of being alive, of the world, of my family, of my career. I want life to be exciting and celebratory. I want to dig in. I want to grab life by the balls and not let go, y’know…?”

Explore our dedicated John Mayall Artist Page.

Format: UK English