With a resume that includes bass player, lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer, Ted Russell Kamp could be a contestant on The Most Interesting Man In the World. Â Most of those talents are on display on his latest record, Walkin’ Shoes.
The first cut, Home Away From Home, sets the pace properly with a walking, traveling beat and twangy guitar. Â Noting “I see familiar faces everywhere I go”, Kamp puts a positive spin on all those days on the road when you make your living as a musician. Â There’s that same snappy beat on Get Off the Grid that had me seeing visions of Merle Haggard, with it’s lament about life in the connected age. Â Less Thinkin’, More Drinkin’ adds some horns to give a zydeco flavor to an uptempo shuffle.
Slower numbers on the album are led by Highway Whisper. Â With just Ted and his bass it’s like southern rock folk music. Â This Old Guitar is a country ballad full of reminisce about the singers best friend. Â We Don’t Have To Be Alone is also a slower ballad, but it’s at a definite simmer. Â Heart Under Pressure puts a southern California spin on a song that could have been in the Eagles playbook.
If you had to put a genre stamp on Walkin’ Shoes, I suppose you’d choose country music. Â But with everything from classic rock to folk making an appearance, there’s going to be a song or two that will appeal to just about everyone. Â Then the rest of the record serves to showcase the many facets to Ted Russell Kamp’s musical talents.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.