GARY CLARK, JR.
''LIVE, DISC ONE''
SEPTEMBER 23 2014
96:23
DISC ONE
1 Catfish Blues
Muddy Waters 8:00
2 Next Door Neighbor Blues
Gary Clark, Jr. 4:05
3 Travis County
Gary Clark, Jr. 3:42
4 When My Train Pulls In
Gary Clark, Jr. 7:10
5 Don't Owe You a Thang
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:12
6 Three O'Clock Blues
B.B. King 6:23
7 Things Are Changin'
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:09
8 Numb
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:13
DISC TWO
1 Ain't Messin 'Round
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:36
2 If Trouble Was Money
Albert Collins 6:40
3 Third Stone from the Sun/If You Love Me Like You Say
Jimi Hendrix / Little Johnny Taylor 10:27
4 Please Come Home
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:33
5 Blak and Blu
Brian Jackson / Gary Clark, Jr. / Don Robey / Gil Scott-Heron 4:03
6 Bright Lights
Gary Clark, Jr. 8:26
7 When the Sun Goes Down
Leroy Carr 5:44
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
Texas guitar ace Gary Clark, Jr., who at his best sounds like nothing so much as the past and the future of the blues, has been compared to guitar icons like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. His playing is a powerful and inspired mix of blues roots with some contemporary soul and hip-hop touches, but it remains the blues always, and the blues is perhaps even more central to his sound than it was for either Hendrix or Vaughan. Clark's major-label debut, 2012's Blak and Blu, stretched the blues thing a bit thin in places, and it only partially resembled his live sets, which were wild, gritty, and often beautifully elegant surveys of electric blues, with Clark's solid originals settling nicely with vintage covers, all with no frills and gimmick-free. Clark, for all the press about it, has never really been about being clever and innovative with the blues, but prefers instead to stand for its strong tradition, and just bring what he brings to the table without a whole lot of fuss. That's what his live sets are about, and this double-disc live album, recorded during a 18-month-long tour in 2013 and 2014, reveals a clearer and more in-focus look at what Clark offers than Blak and Blu does. Mixing select blues covers with standout Clark originals from Blak and Blu, Live is a wonderful introduction to a fine young guitar player, songwriter, and singer. Opening with a thunderous version of Robert Petway's "Catfish Blues," this set never falters through Clark originals like the Chuck Berry-ish romp "Travis County," the timeless-sounding "When My Train Pulls In," and the monster Jimmy Reed homage "Bright Lights," and seamlessly blends in covers of Lowell Fulson's "Three O'Clock Blues" and Albert Collins' "If Trouble Was Money" and "If You Love Me Like You Say," the latter of which is paired with Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun" in a striking ten-plus-minute medley. Clark closes things out with a gentle, sparse, and striking version of Leroy Carr's "When the Sun Goes Down." This is an impressive live set, with crisp playing and sharp sound, and, best of all, it lets Clark play the blues and shine with energy, passion, and a good deal of grace while staying free of the bells and whistles the studio affords. In Clark's case, he doesn't need bells and whistles. He plays the guitar, really good guitar, and if this is indeed the past and future of the blues rolled into one, then the blues appears to be in really good hands.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
Texas guitarist Gary Clark Jr. has been compared to guitar icons like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and his playing is a powerful and inspired mix of blues roots with contemporary soul and hip-hop, and when he’s rolling at his best, he sounds like nothing so much as a natural hybrid of both the past and the future of the blues. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Clark first picked up a guitar at the age of 12 and spent his teens playing whatever gig he could get in the Austin area, eventually meeting Clifford Antone, promoter and owner of Antone’s, the city’s premier blues club, who began featuring Clark at his venue. An amazing live performer, Clark soon became one of the brightest players on Austin’s blues and rock scene. He released an independent album, 2005’s Tribute, followed by a pair of self-produced albums in 2008 for Hotwire Unlimited, 110 and Worry No More. An EP, Gary Clark Jr., also appeared from Hotwire in 2010. But Clark was far from just a one-trick pony guitar gunslinger. He could also sing, write, and arrange. He wrote the original score for the film Full Count and also appeared as an actor in John Sayles' 2007 film Honeydripper. In 2010, Clark was selected by Eric Clapton to perform at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, and a DVD of the show featuring Clark led to a recording deal with Warner Bros. Clark was soon in the studio working on his major-label debut. An EP called Bright Lights was released in 2011 in advance of the new album, Blak and Blu, which appeared in the fall of 2012. His next release was the impressive two-disc Live, recorded during an 18-month-long tour behind Blak and Blu, and one that perhaps better represented Clark's wild, impassioned and often elegantly graceful live sets.
''LIVE, DISC ONE''
SEPTEMBER 23 2014
96:23
DISC ONE
1 Catfish Blues
Muddy Waters 8:00
2 Next Door Neighbor Blues
Gary Clark, Jr. 4:05
3 Travis County
Gary Clark, Jr. 3:42
4 When My Train Pulls In
Gary Clark, Jr. 7:10
5 Don't Owe You a Thang
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:12
6 Three O'Clock Blues
B.B. King 6:23
7 Things Are Changin'
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:09
8 Numb
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:13
DISC TWO
1 Ain't Messin 'Round
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:36
2 If Trouble Was Money
Albert Collins 6:40
3 Third Stone from the Sun/If You Love Me Like You Say
Jimi Hendrix / Little Johnny Taylor 10:27
4 Please Come Home
Gary Clark, Jr. 6:33
5 Blak and Blu
Brian Jackson / Gary Clark, Jr. / Don Robey / Gil Scott-Heron 4:03
6 Bright Lights
Gary Clark, Jr. 8:26
7 When the Sun Goes Down
Leroy Carr 5:44
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
Texas guitar ace Gary Clark, Jr., who at his best sounds like nothing so much as the past and the future of the blues, has been compared to guitar icons like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. His playing is a powerful and inspired mix of blues roots with some contemporary soul and hip-hop touches, but it remains the blues always, and the blues is perhaps even more central to his sound than it was for either Hendrix or Vaughan. Clark's major-label debut, 2012's Blak and Blu, stretched the blues thing a bit thin in places, and it only partially resembled his live sets, which were wild, gritty, and often beautifully elegant surveys of electric blues, with Clark's solid originals settling nicely with vintage covers, all with no frills and gimmick-free. Clark, for all the press about it, has never really been about being clever and innovative with the blues, but prefers instead to stand for its strong tradition, and just bring what he brings to the table without a whole lot of fuss. That's what his live sets are about, and this double-disc live album, recorded during a 18-month-long tour in 2013 and 2014, reveals a clearer and more in-focus look at what Clark offers than Blak and Blu does. Mixing select blues covers with standout Clark originals from Blak and Blu, Live is a wonderful introduction to a fine young guitar player, songwriter, and singer. Opening with a thunderous version of Robert Petway's "Catfish Blues," this set never falters through Clark originals like the Chuck Berry-ish romp "Travis County," the timeless-sounding "When My Train Pulls In," and the monster Jimmy Reed homage "Bright Lights," and seamlessly blends in covers of Lowell Fulson's "Three O'Clock Blues" and Albert Collins' "If Trouble Was Money" and "If You Love Me Like You Say," the latter of which is paired with Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun" in a striking ten-plus-minute medley. Clark closes things out with a gentle, sparse, and striking version of Leroy Carr's "When the Sun Goes Down." This is an impressive live set, with crisp playing and sharp sound, and, best of all, it lets Clark play the blues and shine with energy, passion, and a good deal of grace while staying free of the bells and whistles the studio affords. In Clark's case, he doesn't need bells and whistles. He plays the guitar, really good guitar, and if this is indeed the past and future of the blues rolled into one, then the blues appears to be in really good hands.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
Texas guitarist Gary Clark Jr. has been compared to guitar icons like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and his playing is a powerful and inspired mix of blues roots with contemporary soul and hip-hop, and when he’s rolling at his best, he sounds like nothing so much as a natural hybrid of both the past and the future of the blues. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Clark first picked up a guitar at the age of 12 and spent his teens playing whatever gig he could get in the Austin area, eventually meeting Clifford Antone, promoter and owner of Antone’s, the city’s premier blues club, who began featuring Clark at his venue. An amazing live performer, Clark soon became one of the brightest players on Austin’s blues and rock scene. He released an independent album, 2005’s Tribute, followed by a pair of self-produced albums in 2008 for Hotwire Unlimited, 110 and Worry No More. An EP, Gary Clark Jr., also appeared from Hotwire in 2010. But Clark was far from just a one-trick pony guitar gunslinger. He could also sing, write, and arrange. He wrote the original score for the film Full Count and also appeared as an actor in John Sayles' 2007 film Honeydripper. In 2010, Clark was selected by Eric Clapton to perform at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, and a DVD of the show featuring Clark led to a recording deal with Warner Bros. Clark was soon in the studio working on his major-label debut. An EP called Bright Lights was released in 2011 in advance of the new album, Blak and Blu, which appeared in the fall of 2012. His next release was the impressive two-disc Live, recorded during an 18-month-long tour behind Blak and Blu, and one that perhaps better represented Clark's wild, impassioned and often elegantly graceful live sets.
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