Rock Archeologia

Walter Egan - Walternative 1999 WE Records

Artist: Walter Egan
Album: Walternative
Label: We Records
Catalog#: 13
Release: Aug. 17, 1999
Country: US
Genre: Pop/Rock, Contemporary
Duration: 01:00:32

• Fundamental Roll and Not Shy were amazing, HiFi, The Last Stroll and Wild Exhibitions were great, but - to my mind anyway - Walternative is Walter Egan's magnum opus. Released in 1999 on WE Records, this album showcases the wealth of influences that have spawned Egan's music. Pop, rock, surf, folk, country and even reggae sounds can be heard throughout and it is a pleasure to the ears. Part of this eclectic sound may be due to the fact that, rather than write everything himself, Egan teamed up with other songwriters on about half of the tracks. He also shares vocal duties on two of the tracks, dueting with Joy Lynn White on "The Truth" and Brian Waldschlager on "Vergin' On Tears."
• Further enhancing the experience is the fact that Walternative really shows how much Walter Egan has matured as a songwriter. There is a great deal more depth to his lyrics on this album than on any Egan record before it. There are still a few tracks that are just plain fun and even a little silly- "Happy Home," "Beats the Devil," and "Waitin' for Fred" - but with lyrics like "witness the way in which I swallowed your line, so easily convinced the very first time" from "The Bias of Love" it's clear that this isn't an album by the fun-loving twenty-something that brought us Fundamental Roll and Not Shy. This is an album by a grown, mature man.
• With the liner notes to Walternative, Egan also showcases the fact that he is more than just a musician - he's an artist as well (and even holds a BA in Fine Arts). Several examples of his artwork are printed in the notes. More examples of Egan's artwork can be seen in the liner notes to the 1992 Lindsey Buckingham solo album Out of the Cradle.
• Favorites on this album include "There Goes My Girl" (a lyrically simplistic but aurally stunning song infused with heavy reggae influence), "Drawn to the Flame," "The Bias of Love," and "Goin' Home," but there isn't any filler to be found here.

 • Tracklist:

01. Let Go 02:55
02. There Goes My Girl 04:16
03. Land of the Living 04:29
04. Drawn to the Flame 04:05
05. Strange Love Affair 03:47
06. Vergin' On Tears 04:31
07. The Tide and the Sea 03:52
08. Happy Home 03:25
09. The Truth 04:01
10. Beats the Devil 03:54
11. Nobody Dreams Anymore 05:03
12. The Bias of Love 04:28
13. Get Out of the Kitchen 03:36
14. Goin' Home 04:50
15. Waitin' for Fred 03:20

Members:

Joy Lynn White - Composer, Vocals
Dave Chamberlain, Billy Cioffi - Composer
Walter Egan - Artwork, Composer, Design, Graphic Design,
Liner Notes, Multi Instruments, Producer, Vocals
Shane Gue - Drum Loop, Engineer, Keyboards, Producer
Chris James, Earl Shackleford, Andy West - Composer
Brian Waldschlager - Vocals

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