'I Play Less Notes These Days, but They All Mean a Lot More'

On Broken, Walter Trout packs his licks for maximum impact as he testifies to the hope that can save our divided world.

- By Mark McStea

"IT'S A ROUGH TIME," veteran blues guitarist Walter Trout attests. "The whole world feels like it's in a dark place, with the wars going on. In this country, the political polarization definitely feels like we're very divided. It feels like a very scary time for the world."

That sense of fear was heavy on Trout's mind as he set out to write the dozen tracks on Broken (Mascot), his 31st solo album since he left John Mayall's band in 1989. But far from wallowing in dread, Trout's new songs take the listener on a journey out of the darkness and into redemptive light. "I feel like we're at a pivotal moment in world history," he tells Guitar Player. "Which way are we going to go, you know? I think there's some concern that's reflected on this album, but I believe that the overall theme, by the end of the record, is that there's still some hope. I've got to hold on to hope."

Trout sounds convincingly committed to that goal on Broken. The energy, passion and fire that he brings to his playing, both live and on the new record, belie the fact that just 10 years ago he underwent a liver transplant that saved his life but left him unable to play guitar, which he had to relearn from scratch. His emotively expressive fretwork on Broken fulfills all the expectations set by his stellar past work, but the record throws a few curve balls into the mix as well. "I tried a couple of new approaches and went a little out of the box on this record," Trout explains. "And I'm really excited about how well it turned out."