The Album Review Club - Week #142 - (page 1874) - Strange Times - The Chameleons

So for me the sequence of Gary Clark Jnr albums now goes like this

1st - Really Like
2nd - Like
3rd - Really Like
4th - Like

I was going to say it's a slightly contrary album but I think it's me that's contrary.
On the one hand I applaud him for stretching himself and moving in additional directions and creating variety, whilst simultaneously lamenting that there's not enough of that signature sound.

On the one hand I'll normally moan like billy-oh about inane lyrics but in his case I barely listen to them and they're certainly not grating for me.

Most people are not enjoying the 'density' of the production and normally I'd be looking for a bit more light and shade and a Rob puts it some space, but in this instance I've really enjoyed 'burrowing' into that dense sound

I like the vast majority of this album as I have his others. At the moment it feels more uneven but that's probably a combination of his admirable attempt to stretch out and not yet having time for it to sink into my marrow yet. That said, even though some of the songs are a bit uneven at times, I just find myself not caring and just getting into the sounds he creates.

Going glass half empty, the weaker tracks for me are To The End of The Earth, What About The Children and Triumph but it's only the first of those that I'm struggling to find much merit in. Despite sharing the singular 'dollar', What About The Children is no Living For The City but then not many songs are and though I get where he's coming from I don't feel inclined to beat on it the way Mr B does (btw Mr B I recommend 'Feed The Babies' from his 3rd album :-) )

As ever it's interesting to analyse someone I've previously just enjoyed listening to, I'd never really considered that some of his track titles are a bit naff which actually they are; but again that overall sound moves me on before I get hung up on it.

Unlike some others I really like the closer, perversely what I like about it is that on more than one occasion it comes close to losing me but then literally with a single chord or note, he pulls me back in just with the the tone and I'm like you can play nothing but that note again for a couple of bars and I'll be happy. And that's where I am with GCJ I just really like the sounds that he makes with that guitar.

8/10
 
mancity2012_eamo said:
I’m on another listen and am getting a ‘Higher Ground’ vibe from, ‘Maktub’.
I think there may be quite a bit of Stevie influence in here.
Click to expand...
Yeah I also thought that.

threespires said:
So for me the sequence of Gary Clark Jnr albums now goes like this

1st - Really Like
2nd - Like
3rd - Really Like
4th - Like

I was going to say it's a slightly contrary album but I think it's me that's contrary.
On the one hand I applaud him for stretching himself and moving in additional directions and creating variety, whilst simultaneously lamenting that there's not enough of that signature sound.

On the one hand I'll normally moan like billy-oh about inane lyrics but in his case I barely listen to them and they're certainly not grating for me.

Most people are not enjoying the 'density' of the production and normally I'd be looking for a bit more light and shade and a Rob puts it some space, but in this instance I've really enjoyed 'burrowing' into that dense sound

I like the vast majority of this album as I have his others. At the moment it feels more uneven but that's probably a combination of his admirable attempt to stretch out and not yet having time for it to sink into my marrow yet. That said, even though some of the songs are a bit uneven at times, I just find myself not caring and just getting into the sounds he creates.

Going glass half empty, the weaker tracks for me are To The End of The Earth, What About The Children and Triumph but it's only the first of those that I'm struggling to find much merit in. Despite sharing the singular 'dollar', What About The Children is no Living For The City but then not many songs are and though I get where he's coming from I don't feel inclined to beat on it the way Mr B does (btw Mr B I recommend 'Feed The Babies' from his 3rd album :-) )

As ever it's interesting to analyse someone I've previously just enjoyed listening to, I'd never really considered that some of his track titles are a bit naff which actually they are; but again that overall sound moves me on before I get hung up on it.

Unlike some others I really like the closer, perversely what I like about it is that on more than one occasion it comes close to losing me but then literally with a single chord or note, he pulls me back in just with the the tone and I'm like you can play nothing but that note again for a couple of bars and I'll be happy. And that's where I am with GCJ I just really like the sounds that he makes with that guitar.

8/10
Click to expand...
Hmmm I maybe was laying too much blame on Stevie Wonder for how bad those lyrics were. It appears GCJ has previous.

As I was searching Feed The Babies Spotify suggested I might prefer to listen to Feed The Birds instead - a much better song about poor kids even if it is about birds.
 
mrbelfry said:
Yeah I also thought that.


Hmmm I maybe was laying too much blame on Stevie Wonder for how bad those lyrics were. It appears GCJ has previous.

As I was searching Feed The Babies Spotify suggested I might prefer to listen to Feed The Birds instead - a much better song about poor kids even if it is about birds.
Click to expand...

Tuppence Tuppence Tuppence a bag...

Beautiful song by the prolific Sherman brothers.
 
A typical Gary Clark Jr record. When he's on it, he's really on it. And here he's on it for around 70% of the time. It gets let down by trying to be all things to all people. As do his other albums. That's not say that I didn't enjoy it because I did, and I've had fun belting out on vinyl. But it could have been so much more. It jumps around between all kinds of genres when all I really want is some dirty blues rock.

Shame.

Still, it gets a 7 from me.
 
BimboBob said:
But it could have been so much more. It jumps around between all kinds of genres when all I really want is some dirty blues rock.

Shame.

Still, it gets a 7 from me.
Click to expand...
I warned y'all about that too. For some, I knew you'd be wanting more blues. For me, I wanted all he provided here. I figured this would not be for everyone. A 7 from Bimbo? - that's a gigantic win in my book. Thanks for listening, mate!
 
A really rich album, with a great array of styles, influences cultural references. He does it well too, without it feeling overcooked, or a meaningless mishmash. He does drag it out a bit, in each song rather than number of songs, which is a shame, as it really works. I almost treated everything up to The end of the earth as a mini album. The middle is a bit skippable, and then a strong end. It is current enough, without being 'of today, gone tomorrow'. It had pop enough to be catchy, depth enogh to be more than that, and skilled musical crossovers.

Credit to B&W for the commitment to tick off a year we hadn't covered yet, that I dare guess a few would have braved 2024. I had something lined up, can now revert to my previous intentions.

This is also one of the few albums from this thread I have shared with my old man (that he hasn't heard before) and it is surprisingly accessible to a range of generations.

It is an 8 from me, for a really enjoyable week.
 
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