Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Hillbilly Haiku

Guy Clark has quickly climbed the ladder of my all-time favorite musicians, passing, among others, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, and John Gorka. In fact, he is currently vying for the #1 spot which has been solidly occupied by Lyle Lovett for nearly 2 decades!

Guy's gravelly voice, folksey style and crisp, acoustic sound appeal to my musical tastes, while the vivid portraits he paints through his lyrics satisfy my literary tastes. When he proclaims, "There ain't no money in poetry" he surely knows whereof he speaks, because this man is a GEN-U-WINE poet!

From the homey images of childhood in Watermelon Dream, to the profound metaphors in Hands, to the honest and tender love of Magnolia Wind, to the gratitude for Stuff That Works, Mr. Clark's expressions are winsome, witty and wise.

If you don't know this artist, get to know him! If you want to start with a single album, I recommend The Americana Master Series. But if you prefer to purchase individual songs, my top 10 suggestions are:

Magnolia Wind
Sis Draper
A Little of Both
Black Diamond Strings
Stuff That Works
The Cape
Baby Took a Limo to Memphis
Hands
Immigrant Eyes
Watermelon Dream

I haven't found a song of his yet that I don't like, but these 10 make me happy every time I hear them and also demonstrate his versatility. ENJOY!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I look foreward to hearing him live.