Search - W.C. Clark :: From Austin With Soul

A SOUL/BLUES MAN YA JUST GOTTA HEAR!

Patrick Earley | Edmond, Oklahoma USA | 09/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When it comes to soul, it doesn't get much better than this Austin, Tx. native and international legend. I guess 40 years of experience has finally paid off with Alligator Records having the good taste to sign Clark. This new album is a great start for Clark to get even wider exposure, because this cd has got some amazing soul-stirring blues that need to be heard. The kind that should appeal to the masses. Clark went out and hired some of the best Texas boys and girls he could find to back him up here. Try Pat Boyack and Derek O'Brien on guitars, along with Riley Osborne and Marcia Ball on keyboards and vocals. And the Texas horns starring Mark Kaz Kazanoff for good measure. These kind of outstanding artists are simply not capable of making a bad blues record. And it looks like Alligator spared no expense in hiring the best. In the end though, it's the songs that count. This set contains some of the best material of Clark's career. All you have to do is go down to track 2 with "Midnight Hour Blues". This is a rocking great song that comes right out of the old Chess Records songbook and features Pat Boyack backing Clark on guitar. Go down to track 4 with Don't Mess Up A Good Thing, a great jumping shuffle that features the excellent Marcia Ball on piano and a kind of Ike 'n' Tina vocal exchange between Ball and Clark. You also get a very good reading of the old Bobby Bland song "Got Me Where You Want Me". And a great straight up blues number "Let It Rain" with Derek O'Brien on rhythm guitar, and diplays Clark as not only an excellent vocalist, but also a real blues guitar master. But the highlight for me here is the soul burner "How Long Is A Heartache Suppose To Last". Wow! This song is simply outstanding. Clark pulls out all the stops on this powerful and very emotional song that utilizes the Texas horns to great effect, and also some very strong pounding of the keys. This is a slow tune that builds up to a kind of Otis Redding Try A Little Tenderness type frenzy of an ending. It just doesn't get any better than this one. It's my favorite blues song of the year. This, along with many of these other tunes stay in your head long after you hear them. This cd is a winner, and quite possibly a candidate to win Clark his second W.C. Handy Award for best blues album of the year. It's that good folks. Jump on this one!"

Can't get songs out of my head

Theocacao | Fayetteville, AR | 06/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"W.C.'s lyrics and style stick with me in my head all day long. I find myself hearing the songs long after I have turned off the player. They speak to the heart and soul. This is definitely a CD worth having!"

A great live performer as well

Steve Walker | 07/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I had the pleasure of seeing W.C. live last night. Not only is 'From Austin With Soul' an excellent studio album, Mr. Clark is an excellent live performer as well. The concert was very high energy! I really enjoyed a cover of "Funny how time slips away" from an earlier album, but I agree with the Amazon reviewer--"Let it rain" takes the cake."