Walk This Road (album)

The album's title track, which is also the first track on the album, sees the band reflecting on their long career, as the band has been together since 1970, albeit with a five-year hiatus between 1982 and 1987. The track also features vocals from American gospel singer Mavis Staples.^[6] The album's second track, "Angels & Mercy" is about a man who, according to Patrick Simmons, is "at the end of his rope [...] He's been running for a long time from one thing or another, and [he's] looking for redemption".^[7][8] "Call Me", the third track on the album, tells the story of a man who is having a long-distance relationship, “It’s about a guy having a phone relationship, but it’s a positive thing" as Tom Johnston explained.^[9] "Learn to Let Go", is the fourth track on the album, and complicates learning to accept something is over, "'Learn to Let Go' is a song about, more or less, one of the hardest lessons we learn in this life, especially where love is concerned, and probably the last decision we make on this earthly plane. The song is not all that serious, but we hope you enjoy it" Michael McDonald explained in a video explaining the track's meaning.^[10] "State of Grace", the fifth track on the album talks about reconciliation, "There are a lot of references to recovery and enlightenment," stated Simmons on the track, "Not enlightenment in terms of being enlightened, but in terms of waking and seeing the important things that you’ve been missing".^[11] "Here to Stay" is the sixth track on the album. It was written around 10 years before its release.^[11] Inspired by the Meters and Professor Longhair in the early 1970s, "The Kind That Lasts", the seventh track, "explores the idea" of the phrase "putting your eggs in one basket", as McDonald explained, "Don’t find your meaning of life in someone else before you make sure that you believe in yourself, learn to love yourself first, and then you’ll find that maybe love is something different than you know".^[11] "New Orleans", the eighth track, is an ode to the city of the same name, which was a "special place" to the band, "We’ve been to New Orleans 100 times. I know Tommy loves New Orleans, but we all do. We have friends there. We love the music. We love the food. It’s a culture all its own that we can’t get enough of it when we’re there, so that song has a little bit of a larger meaning to everyone in the band'", it features backing vocals from Sharlotte Gibson.^[11] "Speed of Pain", talks about regrets and lessons learned.^[11] The final track on the album, "Lahaina" is an ode to Lahaina, a town in Hawaii that was affected by the 2023 Hawaii wildfires.^[12]

The album was announced on December 30, 2024, on the band's social media profiles. The album was previewed by three tracks, the first being "Lahaina" in 2023.^[13] The title track and "Call Me" were previewed in 2025.^[14] The album was followed by a tour that started from August 4, 2025, and ended on September 19, 2025.^[15] The band was supposed to be one of the support acts for Electric Light Orchestra during ELO's BST Hyde Park 2025 performance.^[16] The performance was cancelled due to Jeff Lynne's health issues.^[17]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[18]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[19]
Classic Rock	[6]
Mojo	[20]
Uncut	8/10[21]

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Rolling Stone critic Sage Anderson states that the title track "embodies a sense of hope and togetherness, in terms of searching for the right path forward."^[22]

Classic Rock magazine critic John Aizlewood stated that it "is an album as full of joy as it is of craft. Sixteen albums in, they're still not letting themselves down."^[6]

AllMusic critic Mark Deming called it an "album that honors the band's rocking spirit while making room for McDonald's soul-satisfying vocal style."^[19]

The single "Learn to Let Go" spent 7 weeks on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts, peaking at #23.

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[23]