Album Review

Artist: Q and B (Quentin Horton & Benny Wilson)

Album: Walking Each Other Home

Release Date: November 26, 2021

Label: Independent Self-release

Personnel:

Quentin Horton: Lead and Harmony Vocals; Acoustic Guitar; Mandolin; Second Electric Guitar Solo on “Karen”

Benny Wilson: Lead and Harmony Vocals; Harmonica on all songs except “Hang It On The Wall”

Tommy Starnes: Bass Electric Guitar

Chris Ryan: Drums and Percussion

Jason Lloyd: Piano on “”I’m Going With You”; Hammond B-3 Organ on “As I Talk To You”; Hammond B-3 Organ on “If I Was A Letter”

Mary Munsey: Saxophone on “Hang It On The Wall”

Catfish (Duane) Frye: Harmonica on “Hang It On The Wall”

Billy Crawford: Electric Rhythm Guitar and First Electric Solo Guitar on “Hang It On The Wall”

Gary Sutherland: Electric Guitar Solo on “Hang It On The Wall”; First Electric Guitar Solo on “Karen”

Kellie Horton and Miranda Herbert: Backing Vocals on “Hang It On The Wall”

Evie Andrus: Fiddle on “Walking Each Other Home”

Track listing:

1. Rock And Roll Will Never Die, 3:28

2. Softer Side, 3:38

3. Blind Faith, 4:41

4. I Will Always Be There, 2:45

5. I’m Going With You, 3:48

6. As I Talk To You, 4:48

7. Hang It On The Wall, 4:30

8. If I Was A Letter, 3:32

9. Walking Each Other Home, 2:44

10. Karen, 3:15

Review by Jason Bermiller, host of “Liner Notes” on Radio NL, 610 AM Kamloops and “The ProgDog Radio Show” on CFBX, 92.5 FM Kamloops.

After the last couple of years of experiencing a pandemic and watching many tragic events around the world, Quentin Horton and Benny Wilson made a decision to make an album. Now, why would that be such an important decision? Well, it’s what kind of album they made that stands out. ‘We believe it’s a collection of positive messages. We’re hoping it’s up-lifting. We stayed away from any angst-ridden songs. We’ll save those for a future release,” laughs Horton. Unlike many artists who recorded albums over the past two years that reflected the sad and sometimes sorrowful state of affairs that the pandemic brought, Horton and Wilson took a different road. Benny Wilson adds, ‘We thought: Let’s turn this negative into a positive. The pandemic drew that out of us. There’s an underlying message.’ So, were they successful in their goal? In a word: yes.

The opening track, “Rock And Roll Will Never Die”, takes the listener on a fun journey through the rock and roll lifestyle, with a smattering of mentions of rock royalty. In other hands, the song would sound disingenuous, but Horton and Wilson have lived through and during the eras that are heralded in this arena rock opener, a initial welcome to this album of anti-melancholic reflections by two seasoned artists.

“Hang It On The Wall”, the song with the most guest musicians on the album, poses several “ifs” to rhetorically pull you into a sentiment about the grandeur, and challenges, of the USA as a beacon and as a troubled nation. The bluesy guitar by Gary Sutherland bleeds almost seamlessly into Catfish Frye’s soul-soaked harmonica. Mary Munsey delivers a blistering saxophone solo that neither overpowers nor drags behind the emotion of the ballad.

As Horton states, ‘The production on “Softer Side” presented some interesting decisions based on how Benny sang the melodies.’ This lead to a prolonged period of working out and working back the song into a sound that wasn’t over-burdened. ‘We over-recorded some tracks that we didn’t need. I’d probably record less and leave less to mix-down in general in the future,’ Horton reflects. Layered with classic guitar harmonies and almost sounding like a track from the days of the hi-fi wars, “Softer Side” suffers from a deadened tone to what could be a much more bright-sounding piece. Nevertheless, it’s an enjoyable listen.

“I’m Going With You”, a romping, bluesy stomp graced with sensational harmonies epitomizes the sound of the Tennessee of yesteryear. Jason Lloyd must have been wearing shirt garters and a bowler when he pounded that piano. The song sounds like something from an 1800’s swing-door saloon. ‘We were going for that upright saloon piano sound. Jason [Lloyd] is a monster,’ Wilson admits. A true barn-burner of a whiskey-drenched honky-tonk tune, the song begs for the refrain that Q and B thankfully provide. This song lends itself to a few “yee-haws” when played live. If this is the tone of a Q and B concert, let’s hope that the duo release a live album sometime soon, once they can muster together sufficient bail for the band.

Featuring Jason Lloyd again, this time on a Hammond B-3, “If I Was A Letter” is a light-hearted love song. Filled with smiles and harmonies, “If I Was A Letter” has that quality of craftsmanship you’d expect from a different era. Reminiscent of the great rock and roll bands of the 60s, Q and B deliver a song that could easily be heard on AM radio in the heyday of the Top 40 singer-songwriter era. ‘This was the sleeper for me’, Wilson says.

The title track although one of the shortest, bravely comes out with a catchy, blindly-bright chorus. This the kind of song that sticks with you. “Walking Each Other Home” is the metaphor for the whole album. Wilson’s gorgeous high tenor grants this song sparkle and shine. Ending far too soon, you might be tempted to repeat the song because “that’s so nice, I think I’ll play it twice.” ‘In all honesty, we’re all just walking each other home. I believe that if we follow the light, the path will lead us home,’ attests Wilson. ‘This is not the end. This is just the beginning. The song ties together everything that we’ve written for this album.’

The closing track, “Karen” wasn’t on the list to be on the album. ‘ “Karen” was added later and wasn’t going to make the cut, but because of its popularity when we played live we had to include it’, Horton states. A song loaded with wry (rye) humour, “Karen” is almost a novelty song, playing up on the common use of the name “Karen” to refer to a difficult or infuriating woman.

A veteran and award-winning artist, Benny Wilson reflects on how this album compares to his previous work. ‘If I had the stuff then that Quentin and I are writing now, it’d blow that earlier work out of the water. To me this is some of the best music I’ve written. It’s the chemistry. There’s no egotistical crap between us. We can laugh at each other or encourage each other and be honest. When we commit to doing something or being somewhere to complete something, we’re there and ready to work. We have that discipline, and we respect each other.’

Faced with lessons from recording the album, Horton confesses, ‘All we did in the beginning of each of these tracks was a rough vocal, acoustic drums and spare guitar. We’ll be doing more pre-production ahead of making our next set of songs. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Benny.’

Currently working on their next album, Q and B seem to have hit a sustainable stride as a duo. The two singer-songwriters are promising to take us further with their next release. For now, we’re invited to walk each other home. And every step is a rewarding one.

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