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R.D. Olson - Keep Walking Woman
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While many blues songs have lyrics that reference hard times, that is not always the case, and Olson's joyous "Sheila" is a perfect example; the song bounces along to lyrics that affirm an appreciation for a desirable woman, even though she may be a little bit out of reach. Everyone in Olson's band gets a solo on the song, even the drummer, with R.D.'s harp honking up a storm in the chase for this woman. When Olson does move into a depressing subject, like on "Baby Boomer Blues," it comes from a personal space; the self-penned song was inspired by how Olson lost his home in the real estate crash of a decade ago. Despite the subject matter the song is far from a downer of a listen though as Olson name checks other blues artists including Chico Chism, Luther Allison and his own pianist Eric Williams while also incorporating a familiar blues sentiment into the song's chorus, "It's going down; down, down, down, down, down!" "I Miss New Orleans" is a self-explanatory slow and smoky blues, "Keep Walking Woman" is a sax-enhanced (also played by Williams) slice of R&B where Olson portrays a man who cuts his woman loose, supposedly for her own good, and the slow, lengthy and haunting "Johnnie Walker" with its lyric of "sometimes I think we'd be better off dead" is unfortunately another self-penned tune informed by Olson's real life and the suicide of a friend. The album closes with the slow churning "Can't Lose What You Never Had," the Muddy Waters song that was popularized by the Allman Brothers Band.
