Alligator Records
2002
From Austin With Soul
About This Album
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.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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