Details
Track Listing
1. Dublin Blues
2. Black Diamond Strings
3. Shut up and Talk to Me
4. Stuff That Works
5. Hank Williams Said It Best
6. Cape, The
7. Baby Took a Limo to Memphis
8. Tryin' to Try
9. Hangin' Your Life on the Wall
10. Randall Knife, The
Album Notes
Personnel: Guy Clark (vocals, acoustic guitar); Ramblin' Jack Elliott (vocals); Darrell Scott (acoustic, electric & slide guitars, mandolin, dobro, penny whistle); Verlon Thompson (acoustic & slide guitars, harmonica, background vocals); Rodney Crowell (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Sam Bush (mandolin); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Jonathan Yudkin (violin); Jelly Roll Johnson (harmonica); Travis Clark (acoustic bass, background vocals); Kenny Malone (drums, conga, tambourine, shaker, triangle, bells, percussion); Nanci Griffith, Donivan Cowart, Emmylou Harris, Suzi Ragsdale, Kathy Mattea (background vocals).
Recorded at EMI Studios, Nashville, Tennessee.
Texas-to-Nashville country-folk troubadour Clark was always more "respected" than popular, so it's not surprising that this rare major label outing failed to earn him an audience beyond his loyal cult. Regardless, DUBLIN BLUES is full of songs as good as any Clark ever wrote. Restrained but effective production puts Clark's rough, whiskey-and-cigarettes voice and quietly poetic lyrics front and center, which is the key to success for a songwriter this powerful. The title cut is an instant classic (later covered by Clark's buddy/peer Townes Van Zandt), a bit of visionary folkie melancholy. The closer "The Randall Knife" bookends the album perfectly, with a spoken lyric that speaks volumes about the complex dynamics between father and son in Clark's characteristically heartfelt but unsentimental style.
Industry Reviews
...Clark's casual, slightly weary drawl beckons to the listener in settings of mandolin, fiddle, dobro and slide...
Option (07/01/1995)
...Clark continues to craft tongue-and-groove meditations on life and love... - Rating: A-
Entertainment Weekly (02/05/1995)
Sing Out! (8 10/95, pp.147-148) - ...a bunch of songs that are so well-crafted [they] appear virtually effortless...
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