Transition (Walter Trout album)

Transition is the third solo studio album by American blues rock musician Walter Trout, credited to the Walter Trout Band. Recorded between May and June 1992 at Front Page Recorders in Costa Mesa, California, it was produced by Kevin Beamish and released on October 9, 1992, by Provogue Records. The album reached number 46 on the Dutch Albums Chart and was supported by the release of two singles: "Running in Place" and "Motivation of Love".

Transition
Studio album by the Walter Trout Band
Released	October 9, 1992 (1992-10-09)
Recorded	May 12 – June 16, 1992
Studio	Front Page Recorders (Costa Mesa, California)
Genre	Blues rock[1] electric blues[1]
Length	47:50
Label	Provogue
Producer	Kevin Beamish
Walter Trout solo chronology
Prisoner of a Dream (1990) Transition (1992) Live: No More Fish Jokes (1993)
Singles from Transition
"Running in Place" Released: September 18, 1992 (1992-09-18) "Motivation of Love" Released: 1992 (1992)

Background

After recording Life in the Jungle and Prisoner of a Dream in Scandinavia, Walter Trout recorded in the US for the first time for Transition, working at Front Page Recorders in Costa Mesa, California with producer Kevin Beamish, with a budget of around $60,000 – Provogue Records' highest investment in an album up to that point.^[2] The album was released in the Netherlands on October 9, 1992, followed by a wider European release on October 26.^[3] It was preceded by the singles "Running in Place" on September 18, 1992, and "Motivation of Love" at the end of the year.^[3][4]

Reception

Commercial

Transition charted in the Netherlands only, peaking at number 46 on the Dutch Albums Chart.^[5]

Critical

Music & Media described Transition as "less bluesy" than both Prisoner of a Dream and Life in the Jungle, noting that "With each album the blues content diminishes".^[3] Walter Trout himself has acknowledged this change in retrospect, complaining about "the way the guitars are done" and claiming that the production team "tried to turn me into some insipid pop act. It was like they'd taken away the essence of who I am. That album hurt my career. It was a setback."^[6] Classic Rock writer Henry Yates selected Transition as an album "to avoid" in Trout's discography, claiming that "the bone-headed production ... buried the emotional honesty at work beneath a sickly sheen".^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Walter Trout; track 10 co-written by Bernard Pershey and Marie B. Trout.

Transition track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Motivation of Love"	5:05
2.	"Endless Variety"	3:34
3.	"Transition"	5:15
4.	"Running in Place"	5:25
5.	"Deeper Shade of Blue"	4:11
6.	"Got to Kill the Monkey"	4:13
7.	"Face the Night"	4:28
8.	"Playing with Gloves On"	4:15
9.	"She's Missing"	6:30
10.	"Fast Moving Traffic"	4:49
Total length:		47:50

Personnel

Walter Trout Band

• Walter Trout – vocals,^[a] guitar, harmonica
• Jimmy Trapp – bass
• Bernard Pershey – drums, percussion
• Danny "Mongo" Abrams – organ, piano

Additional musicians

• Catte Adams – backing vocals (tracks 2 and 4)
• Katrina Perkins – backing vocals (tracks 2 and 4)

Additional personnel

• Kevin Beamish – production, mixing
• Charlie Watts – engineering
• Bill De Smet – art direction, design
• Brian Weiner – art direction, design
• Sahak Ekshian – art direction, design
• Paul Bergen – photography

Notes

1. Trout is also credited under the alias "Wally Bass" with performing backing vocals on tracks 2 and 4.^[7]

Charts

Chart performance for Transition

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[5]	46