Blowin’ Like Hell (1990)
9
Lollipop Mama / Lonesome Bedroom Blues / Gambling for My Bread / Greasy
Gravy / Trying So Hard / Cash Money / Must Be Jelly / Sweet
Angel’s Gone / Looking to the Future / Drinking By Myself / Blowin’
Like Hell
Béla
Fleck, Astor Piazzolla, Bill Frisell, Bootsy Collins, Guy Klucevsek, Dave
Lombardo, Chris Thile, Clifford Brown, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Cecil
Taylor. William Clarke also belongs in a list like that, a list that’s
made up of people who took the possibilities of their preferred instruments
about as far as possible, played a crucial role in the perception of their
respective instruments, and often explored the full range of possibilities,
whether it be in a technical, expressive or genre-bending understanding of
the term. They may not have been the most experimentally inclined, fearlessly
innovating proponents of their genre and era, but they all explored in a prodigious
way, in the end becoming a synonym for their beloved tools. Clarke belongs
in the troupe that sought stylistic perfection instead of breaking down as
many barriers as possible. While the innovative groundbreaking had already
been done by people like Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, Paul Butterfield
and several others, Clarke was one of the guys – just like his contemporary
Rod Piazza – who distilled the past, mastered styles and techniques
and threw ‘em in a blender, in the end coming up with a mastery that’s
nothing but stunning. Most of the songs on Blowin’ Like Hell
are classic West Coast blues: blues with a jazzy swing, often boogie-styled
piano backing and a looseness that’s quite far removed from the harder,
urban Chicago sound. Of course it doesn’t hurt that Clarke surrounded
himself with a stellar bunch of musicians as well: Alex Schultz, at the time
axe-man in Piazza’s Mighty Flyers, is a brilliant stylist who fuses
hot licks and an impressive gift for fluid soloing; pianist Fred Kaplan was
a key member of the classic Hollywood Fats Band (check out their Rock
This House for another slice of classic West Coast blues), while
nearly all the other members get an opportunity to shine as well, whether
it’s Steve F’dor’s piano during “Must Be Jelly”
or Zach Zunis’s extraordinary solo during “Drinking By Myself.”
When the band intends to swing, they do it hard: “Lollipop Mama”
is a key example of the swift boogie-injected style, delivered by a powerhouse
band that’ll make you wanna dance and tear the roof off (unless you’re
into German goth-industrial, in which case you’re probably catatonic).
Equally interesting are the slower tunes, which are often a great showcase
for the fat, meaty tone Clarke gets from his chromatic harp: “Lonesome
Bedroom Blues” and the late-night jazz vibe of “Must Be Jelly,”
for instance, feature some greasy wailing and shredding by the man. Compared
to the sound of the folkies and their classic, diatonic harmonicas, this guy’s
sound is immense and has a range you didn’t even think was imaginable.
Yet, despite the amazing technique (flexible tongue and large lungs he must’ve
had), it never comes off as too flashy, it’s not a hollow exercise in
velocity and/or technique, as he succeeds in putting more feeling (a cliché,
but so true in this case) into a song than most contemporary R&B-divas
in their entire oeuvre. It’s not all misery though, as tracks like “Gambling
for My Bread” and the title-track are out there to rock the house. The
latter is an instrumental, like “Greasy Gravy” and “Cash
Money,” but those songs are easily as much fun as the others and never
even approach the ‘filler’-status. While “Gravy” keeps
up a sleazy strut, “Cash Money” is a blistering instrumental with
some blazing amplified harmonica parts. This style is not suited for everybody
I guess (my girlfriend, for
instance, can’t stand West Coast-styled blues, especially
when the piano’s leading the way), and it’s something different
than the predictable style of, say, “Mannish Boy,” “Dust
My Broom” or “Boom Boom” (even though they’re great
tracks), but if you’re looking for forceful swing and if you’re
a fan of harmonica blues to boot, then William Clarke’s albums deserve
a high place on your priority list, and this modern classic in particular.
Discover the late genius’s work and tell me I recommended some quality
stuff this time around. Thanks.
Read album reviews of similar or related artists: