W.C. Clark - 2 albums: Lover's Plea / From Austin With Soul

Album: Lover's Plea
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:03
Size: 103.1 MB
Styles: Texas blues
Year: 1998/2006
Art: Front

[4:14] 1. Changing My Life With Your Love
[3:26] 2. Lover's Plea
[3:39] 3. Lonely No More
[5:14] 4. Someday
[2:58] 5. Pretty Little Mama
[5:03] 6. Are You Here, Are You There
[3:20] 7. Everywhere I Go
[3:16] 8. Sunshine Lady
[3:50] 9. I'm Hooked On You
[3:59] 10. Why I Got The Blues
[2:49] 11. Do You Mean It
[3:11] 12. That's A Good Idea

Long a fixture on the Austin, Texas music scene, W.C. Clark has been both mentor and band mate to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marcia Ball and Lou Ann Barton. With an all-star Austin cast of Double Trouble's Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon, Sarah Brown, Derek O'Brien and Mark Kazanoff, Clark spreads his musical palette wide on this disc. Equal parts Texas blues and the kind of soul/R&B music as exemplified by O.V. Wright, Al Green and Sam Cooke, Clark's vocals here are nothing short of eloquent while his guitar stings and stabs with the best of them. W.C.'s ode to his deceased girlfriend ("Are You Here, Are You There?") is one of the numerous highlights aboard along with "Pretty Little Mama," "Changing My Life With Your Love" and the closer, "That's a Good Idea." With tight playing, great songs and solid arrangements, this is Clark's most realized album to date. ~Cub Koda

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Album: From Austin With Soul
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:39
Size: 109.1 MB
Styles: Texas blues
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[3:23] 1. Snatching It Back
[3:24] 2. Midnight Hour Blues
[2:54] 3. I've Been Searching
[2:58] 4. Don't Mess Up A Good Thing
[5:58] 5. How Long Is A Heartache Supposed To Last
[3:40] 6. Bitchy Men
[4:26] 7. Let It Rain
[2:44] 8. Got Me Where You Want Me
[3:37] 9. Got To Find A Lover
[3:26] 10. Get Out Of My Life, Woman
[3:34] 11. I'm Gonna Disappear
[3:33] 12. Real Live Livin' Hurtin' Man
[3:57] 13. I Keep Hanging On

Although he records for Alligator -- Chicago's home of "house-rocking music" -- this long-awaited return from Austin's founding father of the blues might just as well have been waxed during the glory years of Hi Records. As on his last release, guitarist/vocalist Clark meshes R&B with gospel, funk, and blues in a greasy Memphis soul stew that bubbles with passion. The delight Clark exudes in playing this music is evident on every track. His lead guitar playing sparkles, but is mostly reduced to fills and takes a back seat to the jaw-dropping singing that reaches out and grabs the listener. Like Al Green, with whom he shares a similar vocal approach, Clark testifies with every phrase. Not religious-based, this is still music grounded in the church no matter how funky and bluesy it is. When Clark states he's a "Real Live Livin' Hurtin' Man," he might as well be preaching from the pulpit and saving souls. Divided halfway between covers and originals, Clark's versions of Clarence Carter's "Snatching It Back," Allen Toussaint by way of Lee Dorsey's "Get out of My Life Woman," O.V. Wright's "I've Been Searching," and even Oliver Sain's warhorse "Don't Mess up a Good Thing" (with Marcia Ball providing the female duet part) find new life in this setting. He even rescues "How Long Is a Heartache Supposed to Last?" from obscure soulman Jimmy Lewis and makes it sound like the lost classic it is. Longtime associate Mark Kazanoff's tenor sax and production keep the album focused while playing to Clark's strengths: his searing voice and supple guitar work. When he does let loose on six-string during "I'm Gonna Disappear," it's obvious he's got the chops to do more. But it's that restraint that makes this such a satisfying comeback. Sadly, as of its release in 2002, this was the only W.C. Clark album available, a frustrating situation since anyone who experiences From Austin With Soul is going to want to hear more from this magnificent and classy soul/bluesman. ~Hal Horowitz

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