The Album Review Club - *** Christmas Break Playlist (next album 7/1/26) ***
- Thread starter RobMCFC
- Start date
threespires
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2019
- Messages
- 8,842
- Team supported
- City
Yeah quite a bit. This is probably the first pick that I already had on my not very structured "must get round to listening to that soon" list. Not ready to score it yet but overall really like it, which I expected to even though it's not a facsimile of his other albums. There's a couple of tracks that are a bit 'why' and I was particularly irked by To The Ends of The Earth which adds nothing and has been done better many times before. If it's there as a pausa it doesn't work for me. But apart from that one song I can find merit in everything else and as I've already said overall I love the sounds that he makes. There's a contrast to last weeks pick in that even though this has a real mix of styles on it, he has enough of an identity and presence to carry it off. I enjoyed the Fantastic Negrito pick a while back and this has a similar eclectic vibe whilst also being a more in my default wheelhouse. With this album for some reason I found myself imagining he was Buddy Guy's grandson and the family were discussing how he could have gone off the rails so much but Buddy was very chill about it all.
Anyway back on topic can I just say that as a country our levels of social mobility have collapsed in a way other peers haven't. Go and have a look at the collapse in home ownership of the under 40s here and compare it to others. It's not the absolute position people are in that counts, its the degree to which they feel they can control and improve their own destiny. The worst thing we can ever take from our young people is hope.
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Would it surprise you if I said that “To The Ends of the Earth” is one of my favourites? It’s a lovely, cool, laid-back piece with jazzy chords. It’s a bit short, and I understand what you are saying about it having been done before, but it’s a refreshing break after the earlier bombast.
I’d love to hear other artists who put a twist on the blues. Listening to a guy who just plays a guitar is a bit too straight for me, but some of the tracks on here feel a bit too much. There must be a sweet spot somewhere, but Chris Whitley aside, I’ve never found it.
Mancitydoogle
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2017
- Messages
- 1,856
I’m enjoying it, not what I was expecting having only heard his more bluesy tracks before. I’m getting a real Sly and the Family Stone vibe from this.
threespires
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2019
- Messages
- 8,842
- Team supported
- City
I was about to write if I want to listen to jazz guitar I put a 'proper' jazz guitarist on like Wes Montgomery or Jim Hall or Joe Pass at which point I realised I'd recently written something in this space that ignores Jazz guitar entirely. Doh! :-)
threespires
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2019
- Messages
- 8,842
- Team supported
- City
High praise indeed!
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
If the streaming link works in the UK, then you are welcome. If it does not, then I am sorry, I tried.
Bonus is you get Black Pumas right after. I'd have loved GCJ to get the full program, but he's done that before, and the 4 songs are fine for me, even without Stevie (nod to @mrbelfry in including that one!). Naala joining him was very nice, and ending with "Habits" of course was needed.
Gary just announced a winter 2025 leg tour and will be coming close enough by that I'll be seeing him then, so all is good!
Austin City Limits | Gary Clark Jr. / Black Pumas | Season 50 | Episode 5002
Grammy-lauded Gary Clark Jr. and Black Pumas deliver a thrilling hour of rock and soul.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
It wouldn't surprise ME, but I'm glad you took the time to mention it because the early returns have not been positive. I've always liked it there as a bridge as I've noted prior.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
I've lost count! ;-)
I will say you are one I hoped would enjoy it given your leanings.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
It's a problem here as well, and certainly things weren't helped by the Covid epidemic just 4 years in the rear view, homes not moving as much, speculative buying impacting prices, etc. I'll only state there's one here who actually has more than just a concept of a plan to address and try to improve it, and leave it at that.
It isn't going to change overnight, but putting positive policies in place to help restore some hope is a start.
As a 20something in the early 90s, I couldn't imagine going back to live at home, but it's what my oldest did for 5 years before she recently bought her own place after years of saving by avoiding rent. It's a different time and situation all around given the rise of home ownership prices most everywhere.
Last edited:
threespires
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2019
- Messages
- 8,842
- Team supported
- City
To not derail this thread I posted some stuff in one of the politics threads that suggests the UKs problem is actually more acute than the majority of peer countries.
On the album how do you rate this compared to his previous releases?
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
Fair enough. I try and tend to avoid those threads here for the most part here given I've already experienced Tom Petty's "Jammin' Me" on nearly every commercial or sign I see when driving around town. I try to keep this a break from THAT. Send me a PM to that discussion and I may check that out.
While I've liked them all, they were very much blues centric for the most part. While I'm still a fan of those, I rate this release higher for the variety, guests, and different genres explored.
Are the new areas explored groundbreaking? Perhaps not, but from him, it has been my go-to album of the year.
I think Blak and Blu will always be special to me too in being his first and hearing his sound for the very first time.
mancity2012_eamo
Well-Known Member
I haven’t yet. Was away and only just back.
I played the Soundtrack playlist first and started this album and got around three songs in. Very interesting I was thinking.
Just trying to catch up, so I started reading this threads offerings on the album and my first react was, WTF! Am I in the political thread or what. Have I got the right place?
Not sure if I’ll get the time to score this one. Is it for Wednesday or tomorrow?
RobMCFC
Well-Known Member
Wednesday
mrbelfry
Well-Known Member
That link didn't work for me although other videos did. What About The Children is on YouTube though it's harder to take it serious when the second guitarist is dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog. Also to make another point about how I don't think he's trying that hard with the lyrics (it's 2024 not 1974) I suspect most sex work is no longer done on the streets but via webcam. If you also want to talk about the indignity caused by that work then don't describe it as giving up that good-good.If the streaming link works in the UK, then you are welcome. If it does not, then I am sorry, I tried.
Bonus is you get Black Pumas right after. I'd have loved GCJ to get the full program, but he's done that before, and the 4 songs are fine for me, even without Stevie (nod to @mrbelfry in including that one!). Naala joining him was very nice, and ending with "Habits" of course was needed.
Gary just announced a winter 2025 leg tour and will be coming close enough by that I'll be seeing him then, so all is good!
Austin City Limits | Gary Clark Jr. / Black Pumas | Season 50 | Episode 5002
Grammy-lauded Gary Clark Jr. and Black Pumas deliver a thrilling hour of rock and soul.video.austinpbs.org
I'm still intrigued by the line about honest people though to be fair. I expect he's calling out conservatives but he should be clearer. It's possibly a response to a pro life position that is often criticised for caring less about children after they're born. In which case the what about the babies line is making fun of the hysteria and sloganeering of the conservative right and is deeply sarcastic which would turn the song on its head. However if I assume the song is this smart then the first verse gives me some problems and also it would make the song pro stabbing.
Is the first verse also saying that the children with no shoes don't have mums and dads? Or that their mum's and dads are to blame for their kids having no shoes? Where are all these orphaned shoeless kids running around? If Gary and Stevie know about them and are writing a song to highlight their plight then to give no geographic data is extremely unhelpful. Who's the real villain of this story? I really hope Stevie Wonder isn't going around grabbing children's feet and asking them if there mum and dad are around
Describing a life as being shattered by having a baby regardless of someone's economic status is a position I find it very difficult to stomach when I know too many people who have found it incredibly difficult to conceive. Your pre baby dreams and aspirations should absolutely change post baby. Your dreams are shattered because you may need to be a little less selfish whilst railing against the perceived selfishness of the conservative right? Bold position to take
I think though that Stevie Wonder is mostly responsible for these lyrics so unfair of me to blame GCJ
Last edited:
I actually liked the little interlude /bridge, In the same way I liked "Frank MIlls" on Shame About Ray. Except Gary is just much more laid back. Cool & Jazzy and a nice little change, amongst all the other changes across the album.
Having finished my last audiobook the other day I thought I would give this full attention on my commutes. So I have gone from Malcolm X to GCJ, both very enjoyable.....but more listens to go. Certainly the first track is a nice intro to the album...So thanks to @Black&White&BlueMoon Town for another new artist to me.
Black&White&BlueMoon Town
Well-Known Member
I'm going to be honest, while that's maybe how you took the song, I didn't see it in the same way. I didn't view life as shattered so much as a result of the children, more of the situation they found themselves in. I looked at the song as a struggle in the world today and focused on the children who hope for a better future.
I'm not saying I don't agree with you, because your interpretation did give me something to think about, but I took it more as frustration in the cycle of poverty more than any statements around calling out conservative values. I didn't see it that way at all, but that's just me.
And I'm also fine if his rhythm guitarist decides that's how he wants to appear on stage. That's his business and clearly he can play.
threespires
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2019
- Messages
- 8,842
- Team supported
- City
You have posited a number of possibilities here and whilst I would not wish to commit to an opinion on some of them, I feel reasonably confident in saying I think it unlikely that a visually impaired septuagenarian music legend is running around grabbing children by the ankles.
Have you over thought it or have Stevie/Gary under thought it? I suppose both statements can be simultaneously true.
What is not up for debate is my initial response to the headgear, which was "where do I get me one of those?" But again to show that things are rarely black and white, that thought was quickly followed by "maybe it would be a bit too heavy for everyday use?"
mrbelfry
Well-Known Member
I think I'm partly motivated out of jealousy. The appropriate headgear for my face is a bag - I'd love to be able to wear hats confidently.
The beauty of art is that it can withstand multiple interpretations. What is the truth? What the artists intended or what the audience perceived? My post took things to an absurd place I don't believe. my initial interpretation is the one I still hold to - it's 50 years out of date and lacks sincerity.
The beauty of art is that it can withstand multiple interpretations. What is the truth? What the artists intended or what the audience perceived? My post took things to an absurd place I don't believe. my initial interpretation is the one I still hold to - it's 50 years out of date and lacks sincerity.