Recording for Common Ground took place at House of Blues Studios in Encino, Los Angeles between March 8 and March 18, 2010.[1] The album was produced by John Porter, who had worked on Trout's previous album The Outsider in 2008; also returning were bassist James "Hutch" Hutchinson, drummer Kenny Aronoff and keyboardist Jon Cleary, who performed on the whole album.[2] Regarding the title of the album, Trout explained in a press release that "In this modern world which seems to be so filled with polarization, disagreements, and cruelty, I feel that it is important that we try to find SOME place where we can bond and come together in our common humanity!"[3] Henry Yates of Classic Rock magazine explained that much of the album was written in the context of the 2010 United States elections, noting that "With an election-season America bitterly split along Democrat and Republican battle lines, Common Ground saw Trout appeal for unity using the only tools at his disposal: a whip-smart lyric sheet and the beat-to-hell Fender Strat that positively strafes the tracklisting."[4] Trout himself confirmed this, stating: "These songs were written amidst all the yelling and the screaming from the left and right. It just felt like there was this inability amongst our politicians to be civilised and meet in the middle. That album was really a call for people to be more forgiving to each other."[4]
Media response to Common Ground was positive. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann suggested that "Trout seems to be intent on establishing himself as something more than a worthy successor to an older generation of blues originators, as well as a bevy of their better-known successors all old enough to be his older brothers", praising the quality of the songwriting as well as guitar playing on the collection.[1] Pete Feenstra of Get Ready to Rock! claimed that Common Ground was "a career best" for Trout, suggesting that he "hits new heights" with the team of producer Porter and his backing band of Hutchinson, Aronoff and Cleary.[2]
At the end of 2010, Classic Rock magazine ranked Common Ground as the seventh best blues album of the year, writing that the album "is seldom revelatory, but it reminds you what you liked about [Trout] in the first place: molten Stratocaster solos, superior original material, and a palpable desire to piss on the blues gestapo's rulebook with dips into funk and hard rock".[8] In a feature for the publication in 2024, Henry Yates selected Common Ground as one of Trout's nine best solo albums.[4]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Walter Trout; track 6 co-written by Tim Jahnigen
Common Ground track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"May Be a Fool"
4:45
2.
"Open Book"
4:42
3.
"Her Other Man"
6:33
4.
"Common Ground"
6:18
5.
"Danger Zone"
4:12
6.
"Hudson Had Help"
3:16
7.
"Loaded Gun"
5:45
8.
"Song for My Guitar"
5:13
9.
"Eyes of a Child"
5:09
10.
"No Regrets"
6:23
11.
"Wrapped Up in the Blues"
4:47
12.
"Excess Baggage"
5:54
Total length:
62:57
Personnel
Musicians
Walter Trout – vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin
