Released within a week of Tom Russell’s fantastic ‘Blood and Candle Smoke’, these two albums represent high-watermarks for two genuine giants of the Western American singer/songwriter scene.  They’re totally different artists though, Guy Clark has an effortless, smooth style in both his vocal delivery and acoustic guitar playing that makes his songs wash easily over the listener.
He’s joined by a group of musicians who make up a beautifully restrained string band, Clark’s own playing is refreshingly unshowy, it’s as much about what he leaves out as what he actually plays, and the mix of fiddle, mandolin, bass, cello and drums is a master-class in efficiency.  The producers have responded to this in that there are no extra layers or polish added, it’s just a fantastic group of musicians and the songs laid bare.
Although a celebrated writer with a string of well-known songs behind him, for his last couple of albums he’s shared the writing process with others, this album sees him teaming up with a wide mixture of people ranging from Rodney Crowell through to a trio of young upcoming writers that will be new to many.
The 11 songs are made up of 10 originals, and has as become tradition a cover from his late best friend Townes Van Zandt; the overall quality of the writing here is stunning and as an example of Texan singer/songwriting there’s little out to compare with this.

Track listing
1 Somdays You Write The Song
2 The Guitar
3 Hemingway's Whiskey
4 The Coat
5 All She Wants Is You
6 If I Needed You
7 Hollywood 3
8 Eamon
9 Wrong Side Of The Tracks
10 One Way Ticket Down
11 Maybe I Can Paint Over That

£12.99