photo via talkinblues.comWalking into the Ghost Room on 4th street, I instantly remembered how good Gary Clarke Jr. is. With his husky, yet smooth voice and mad guitar skills, why is this guy not famous? As a rock and blues guitarist, his sound is like a modern Jimi Hendrix. His vocal stylings are somewhere between Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and Ben Ottewell of Gomez.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to hear a whole other side of Clarke at a singer/songwriter in the round show and heard him play a beautiful acoustic with intricate finger-picking. I remember thinking, "where did this come from" and why can't I hear more?
Clarke told me after the show that he will be going on tour soon, and that he hasn't recorded any of the softer, acoustic tunes. I really hope he does, it'll show off how versatile he can be.
3 comments:
I discovered Gary's music a little more than a year ago and have asked myself the same thing, "Why isn't this guy famous?"
For those people who haven't heard of him, I'd recommend checking out his self titled, debut album. While the video posted here undoubtedly shows off some of Gary's guitar playing skills, the album shows his diversity across many genres of music.
Being a "blues" guy, "I Don't Owe You A Thang" (yes it's, "Thang") is my favorite track, but "Bright Lights, Big City" comes in a close second. (Not to be confused with the Jimmy Reed song of the same title.)
Another great track on the album (not that there are any bad ones) is "Breakdown", a poppy-rock sounding tune that'll will set your toes to tapping.
Nice writing by the way, thanks for sharing.
Hey thanks for the comment! I was wondering which album to buy, and now I know.
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