From Amazon.com
Right on....
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: There's no other way to put it: I LOVED this CD!! Played it through 3 times in a row the first day I got it. Have been recommending it ever since. Was delightfully surprised at the combo of blues with country on a couple of songs----very nice. Loved "Randal Knife" but actually I could close my eyes and press any selection and it would be a winner. There are no songs that I skip over on this CD.
I'd call this one good, but there are better ones out there...
Album Rating: (3 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: First I should say that I like "Old Friends" and "The Essential Guy Clark" better than this release. Then I have to say that even a less than perfect Clark CD is pretty damn good. Guy is a meticulous lyricist. My favorites on here are "Dublin Blues" and "Black Diamond Strings" and "Tryin' to Try" and "Hangin' Your Life on the Wall." To me, "The Randall Knife", which other reviewers love, is one of the weaker performances. When Guy is good, Guy is great. When he fails, the song is still a near-miss, not a disaster.
masterpiece
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Here I am in Dublin...from there I'm hooked. Some of Guy's best writing. The title tune with the odd acoustic riff and the spooky sense of sorrow and joy at the same time. "Stuff That Works", the collaboration with Rodney Crowell that includes a really sweet turn toward Guy's wife Suzannah, "Black Diamond Strings", the obligitory this could be a drunken sing along song if you want it to be, not to mention a tip of the cap to Rodney and those strings every guitar player started out with.
The highlight though is a beautiful version of what is arguably the best song Guy has ever written, "The Randall Knife." It's one of those songs that when its over you say if I could write anything as good as any line in that song I could die a happy man. The tune about a relationship with a father is one most of us can relate to.
This is one another of those take it to a desert island records. Buy it today
One of Guy's Best
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Guy Clark is a slow and careful songsmith. He doesn't release many CDs, so each one is meticulously crafted. This is one of his best.
Listen to the words and absorb the rhythms of the title track, IMO simply one of the finest songs written by any modern singer-songwriter. Who else could write a love song that admits to being too proud to come in out of the rain; unapologetically equates the works of Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Doc Watson; and book-ends it all with the unforgettable, acidic verse, "I wish I was in Austin, in the Chili Parlor Bar, drinking Mad Dog margaritas, and not caring where you are" -- all in 4:20 ?
From the sage wisdom of "Stuff that Works" (w/R. Crowell, a long-time friend of his), to the uplifting message and wry humor of "The Cape", to the painful mourning of his father's death in "Randall Knife", this disk includes some of his finest songwriting. If you are new to Guy Clark's music, this is a fine way to start appreciating his poetry set to music.
Wonderful Words
Album Rating: (4 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: This was my first Clark CD. I have since purchased two more. I love the words to his songs. As you listen you are either inspired to do great things or feel saddened by a lost love. Guy definitely makes my commute a wonderful experience by focusing on what's real and what you feel.
I highly recommend this album.
Purchases
1 Dublin Blues
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