Walter Trou/Kristine Jackson

Blues singer-guitarist Walter Trout released his latest album, Survivor Blues, in late January. On the surface, it’s your traditional covers record, but a quick scan of the track listing reveals that this is in fact, not a quickly tossed off collection of Trout’s versions of the tried-and-true standards that have been done to death. Instead, he took the road less traveled, something which is immediately evident listening to the incredible version of “Me, My Guitar and the Blues” that leads off the album. (Matt Wardlaw)