As we've reported previously, Trout remains under 24-hour hospital care while awaiting for a suitable donor organ. New album The Blues Came Callin' was recorded last year, and reflects Walter's thoughts about mortality and about his struggle against illness.

"When I think about looking out into the crowds of people and connecting with everyone on a soul level, and sharing the experience of music with them, this is what keeps me fighting to get back", says the guitarist. "My family and my music is my lifeline. These days, it means more to me than ever before."

"For five years, Walter, Provogue Records, and I have worked towards making Walter's 25th year as a solo artist a special celebratory event, says Trout's wife, Marie. "But the festivities will have to wait! Walter is urgently in need of a liver transplant. It has been heart-breaking for me to watch Walter struggle through these past many months, as we tried various treatment options provided by Walter's doctors and liver specialists. One by one the treatments failed.

"Yet through it all, Walter's courage and determination continually amazed me. Even as he became a shadow of his former self, after losing 100 pounds and much of his strength, he continued touring, writing, playing, singing, and recording. Music and playing for people offered Walter what it always has: It is therapy and a life-line for him when the blues comes callin'. Thus the theme of this album is coloured by his confrontation with mortality combined with a deep, all-abiding desire to persevere, and a good dose of typical Walter'esque life-affirming defiance!"