Gary Clark Jr. is a
29 year old blues guitarist from Texas who’s latest release Blak And Blu is his first on a major
label and represents his long awaited break into the commercial mainstream.
This album is a big break for Clark Jr. who has spent years trying to make it
big in the industry, releasing several EPs and CDs on indie labels without much
success. Luckily for him Blak And Blu
entered the US Billboard 200 at number 6, with his contemporary take on blues
rock now making a big impression.
Blak
And Blu is quite
a varied album musically and sees Clark Jr. experimenting with several
different styles very much in homage to his quite diverse list of influences, influences
that includes Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Curtis Mayfield, and Prince. Vocally Clark
Jr. is very soulful in his delivery and you can hear touches of Lenny Kravitz
in his voice, while his guitar playing is very much influenced by Hendrix
especially in his use of effects pedals and an overall dreamy psychedelic style
which he plays rather loudly with carefully nuanced solos. The sound on this
album is by in large a concoction of
blues and psychedelic rock in combination with some very soulful vocals,
although he does also branch out into R&B, Doo Wop, and even Hip-Hop on
this album showing that he isn’t just a one trick pony.
The opening track “Ain’t
Messin Round” is a Stax-like number with horns driving the song along, “When My
Train Pulls In” probably represents his blues rock style best and contains
wailing guitar solos throughout, “Travis County” is a quick-paced rock and roll
number that sounds as if Chuck Berry could have written it, while “Glitter Ain’t
Gold” is very Lenny Kravitz-like both vocally and musically. These tracks are
the centre pieces on the album and are a clear representation of his blues rock
style and guitar playing. The ferocity and pace of some of these tracks allows
him room to experiment in some places and thus sees him explore hip-hop and
R&B on the album also. “Blak and Blu” and “The Life” are the two hip-hop
influenced tracks on the record, with the former sampling Gil Scott-Heron,
while “Please Come Home” is a soulful Motown influenced number that has shades
of The Miracles and Temptations especially in Clark Jr.’s falsetto vocal.
Having not heard
any of his previous material I was very impressed by this album, particularly
his guitar playing (man this guy has some chops), but also the diversity in
style on this record. I feel if it was an album of ten or twelve tracks of the
same heavy blues it could become too much of a good thing. Therefore, the
presence of some R&B and hip-hop numbers balances the heavier guitar tracks
out nicely, and also comes as a gentle relief from the blues material. I would recommend
this album to people into blues rock or rock in general, I also think fans of the
early-Black Keys would appreciate this as well. People who like to dance should
also tale note as there are some tracks on here that are great for dancing to, which
is not always the case with rock forms. A nicely done album by a very talented
guy, I look forward to his next offering.
B+
- Sam
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