Trout Casts Net of Many Colors

On the back cover of his new album, Walter Trout walks toward the surf, carrying a Fender Stratocaster as if it were a fishing rod.

Maybe the fiery blues-rock guitar gladiator from Huntington Beach will reel in the renown that has eluded him in the United States.

Released last year in Europe, where he has been in demand since 1989, the album is Trout’s seventh, but only his second chance to make an impression in his home country. (He has been seen and heard most widely here as a weight-loss spokesman for Jenny Craig.) “Tellin’ Stories,” released in the U.S. on a major-label affiliate, Silvertone, in 1994, barely surfaced. With murky sound and uneven material, it was hardly Trout’s best vehicle, anyway.

This time Trout and his band went to Memphis to work with producer Jim Gaines, whose credits include work with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Santana. Everything sounds clear, alive and terrific. Actually, there is a bit too much of everything: 16 tracks and 72 minutes is 33 1/3% more than the sensible listening limit from thegood old days of vinyl LPs. Yet Trout can’t be accused of droning.

Versatility, one of Trout’s strong suits, seems to be what he most wants to establish on what he sees as his shot in the U.S. market. So he filled the disc with tracks that present his credentials as a bluesy rocker, as a soulful ballad singer and even as an instrumentalist dabbling in the sort of gleaming lyricism that took Craig Chaquico out of Jefferson Starship and onto mellow-listening formats.

This isn’t Trout’s best album as a songwriter; “Prisoner of a Dream” (1991) set a standard that only a couple of numbers on “Walter Trout” match. A lot of this album’s romantic scenarios are handled in a commonplace way. Only “Temptation,” a stormy, Stones- influenced song about the precariousness life holds for vulnerable people trying to walk a straight and sane line, has the vivid imagery to make the lyrics fresh.

While it’s a bit disappointing that Trout hasn’t delivered the whole package as he has on many peak numbers in the past, it’s understandable that he would make musical versatility and intensity his priorities. Other than the obvious reason, ageism, it has always been mystifying that a truly hot-wired player such as Trout, 46, hasn’t connected in America.

The control and conciseness that emerged for the first time on his previous album, “Breaking the Rules,” continue here. Just about every song features solos of searing heat or lovely lyricism. “Song for a Wanderer” is an especially nice surprise, as Trout, who grew up near Philadelphia, pushes his voice into a sweet-soul falsetto that’s a hometown trademark. Also very tasty and warm are the accompanying Robbie Robertson-style guitar licks.

Trout’s stylistic grasp extends to an R&B; ballad out of the ‘50s New Orleans school; a taut, dark, hefty groover a la Stevie Ray Vaughan; a guitar ballad with Santana-like soaring and throaty cries; a hot workout on Chuck Berry riffs, and a satisfying acoustic Southern-rock number in which Trout chimes nimbly on mandolin and moans effectively on harmonica.

“Jules Well,” by keyboard player Martin Gershwitz, even brings in a touch of bluesy progressive rock, a la Argent or Camel. Trout’s tenderness and sincerity as a singer lift the standard-issue wedding-type ballad “Let Me Be the One” from the schmaltzy soil in which its ilk are grown.

Gershwitz, who recently left the band, steps forward and generates lots of excitement on organ and piano. His prominent role has a lot to do with the album’s instrumental richness and variety.

With all this diverse, savory bait, Trout has given himself a good chance to hook the American audience he deserves. If that happens, maybe he’ll put out a “best of” collection that would showcase his finest moments as a writer.

* The Walter Trout Band plays Saturday at Hop City Blues & Brew, 1929 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim. 9:30 p.m. $7. (714) 978-3700.

Ratings range from * (poor) to **** (excellent), with three stars denoting a solid recommendation.