Product Description
MONSTER MIKE WELCH - KEEP LIVING TIL' I DIE
RELEASE DATE AUGUST 1, 2025. ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!
On Keep Living Til' I Die, renowned blues guitarist and three-time Blues Music Award winner Monster Mike Welch delivers searing guitar and impassioned vocals on a set of original songs and covers of Robert Johnson, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Dylan among others, exploring themes of life, death, love, joy and heartbreak.
MONSTER MIKE WELCH
Keep Living Til I Die
Self-release
One of the finest blues guitarist out there, Mike Welch has been making beautiful music for more than three decades, garnering his “Monster” nickname when he was 13 years old, a testimonial to his burgeoning talents. His career arc includes a stint with Sugar Ray and the Bluetones followed by a magnificent pairing with the late Micheal Ledbetter in the Welch-Ledbetter Connection.
Many may be unaware that Welch has been battling severe depression for years, a debilitating condition now so intense that he is undergoing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in hopes of taming the demons. He has been open about his struggles, and his new album serves as a form of therapy as much as a well-needed emotional release.
“I Finally Hit The Bottom” was penned by Rick Estrin about a man recovering from lost love, but Welch turns it into a mantra about his fight to regain the balance in his life. Whether singing or playing guitar, he bares his soul with piercing intensity. The title track is an original composition that celebrates his desire to push on through all of life’s trials and tribulations. The mood is more somber on “Do What You Want With My Grave,” acknowledging that he cares little for what happens after death. The Otis Rush inspiration is prevalent, but the harrowing guitar solo is pure Welch.
Robert Johnson’s “Hell Hound On My Trail” is a soul-wrenching journey into depression as Welch once again unleashes his guitar in a concerted effort to keep the monsters at bay. A cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Good To Me As I Am To You” may very well be the emotional core of the project. Done as instrumental, it is Welch and his guitar in an intimate, emotionally-charged soliloquy that vividly illustrates the redemptive power of music. Bob Dylan’s “Dear Landlord” also gets the instrumental treatment, complete with power chords highlighting another burst of six-string therapy wrapped around Brooks Milgate’s meditative organ refrains.
“Love Me Baby” rides along with Brad Hallen’s rumbling bass lines over drummer Fabrice Bessouat’s shuffle beat, delivered with a light touch. The mood shifts on “She Makes Time,” Welch taking listeners out to the country for a love song with an insistent boogie rhythm. The band turns in an up-tempo run-through of Lieber & Stoller’s “Some Other Guy,” with Milgate’s rollicking solo on electric piano inspiring Welch to turn in another killer solo. The lyrics on the original “The Whole Idea Of You” are fairly generic, but some fine backing vocals and the leader’s vibrant guitar licks make it a worthy listen.
Welch returns to the theme of death on the closing cut, “Burial Season,” with a haunting sound that offers a vivid reminder of the struggles he is working to overcome. We can only hope that the treatments bring him relief. Despite the crushing weight of depression, Welch has crafted a revealing work that never wallows in despair, but reminds us he is an artist to be reckoned with.
– Mark Thompson
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