Search - Delbert Mcclinton :: Cost of Living

Lone star star

K. R. Williams | melbourne, australia | 03/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Texas music is more than music from Texas. It's an alchemy of apparently disparate essences - blues, soul, rock'n'roll - and Delbert McClinton is a master chemist. Like his fellow Lone Star Staters Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Doug Sahm, McClinton's defiance of definition may have denied him a wider audience, but those who know him can consider themselves, to quote one of his songs, "one of the fortunate few". McClinton wrote most of the 13 songs here and anything he doesn't write he makes his own (I'll Change My Style, associated with Jimmy Reed, becomes wonderfully greasy swamp R&B). For tragic, noirish adventure with a femme fatale, try Down into Mexico ("Sherrie was a dancer / she was a schemer / we came up with a foolproof plan"). Those who have lost love will share the ache of Kiss Her Once For Me ("and there's a part of her life I won't be there to see / when you're holding her tonight, kiss her once for me"). McClinton just turned 65 and shows no sign of decline. Start here and work back to such gems as Genuine Cowhide (1976) and The Jealous Kind (1980). (This review appeared in The Age newspaper in Melbourne, Australia.)"

Satisfies my Delbert craving, but not his best

Joseph Roche | Northeast PA | 09/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was really excited to hear this album was finally coming out. After catching a Delbert show with the current band, I thought this would be a smoking album. I am still absolutely floored by Rob McNelley's (guitar) solo album after almost two years, and figured he would have some influence on this album.. He does, but it still left me a little flat after a few plays.



Don't get me wrong, a flat album from Delbert beats a great album from most others. But sometimes you get to thinking that everything Delbert does is magical. If you have either of his last two albums (Nothing Personal or Room to Breathe), you know what I'm talking about. This one doesn't match up to those.



As I said earlier, it's still better than lots of 'great' albums. My personal taste runs more towards blues/soul/rock than country. Delbert seems to be exploring his country side on this disc. In my opinion he is where country music ought to be today, not pretty people who all sound like each other. But then, I'm not much of a fan of country music.



This disc starts off with "One of the fortunate few", which will probably confuse some people as this is the name of a fantastic album from a few years ago. This song introduces Rob McNelley's rich rhythm chops right away, and is a great intorduction to the album. "Right to be Wrong" follows, and I remember thinking this is going to be one of my favorites. It changes feel between straight time and a blues shuffle and really gets ripping towards the end. "The part I like best", "I'll change my style" and "Hammerhead Stew" are immediate classic Delbert tunes.



Then you get to "Your Memory, Me and the Blues". I found myself listening to the intro and thinking this sounds just like "Don't leave home without it" (from Room to Breathe). The changes are different, but the feel is very similar (play them back to back and you'll see what I mean). One more song ("Dead Wrong") to add to the Delbert classics list, then it starts to fall apart for me.



In "Down into Mexico", "Kiss her once for me", "I had a real good time", "Midnight Communion" and "Two Step Too", Delbert explores some serious country roots. As I said, if the country genre was more like this, I would probably listen to more of it. But as I'm into other things, these are the songs I would never consider in my favorites list.



He ends strong in "Allright by me", a nice little jazzy bluesy tune that has already left me wanting the next album. So, this disc starts strong, goes away a bit (for me at least), and finishes strong. Once again, a nice album, but will probably not make my top ten favorites from Delbert.



If you are shopping for Delbert, I highly recommend Room to Breathe, or even better is the Grammy winning Nothing Personal. Look for "Live from Austin" for a taste of a younger Delbert in concert, or "Live" for a more recent experience. I would recommend the Austin disc for the beginner - it's a single disc and therefore a bit cheaper. Also, I recommend "One of the fortunate few" (the album) from a few years back."