Gary Clark Jr. from Austin, Texas, is one of the brightest lights in the blues at the moment. Only 31, he boasts three outstanding record releases, the Grammy-nominated 2012 studio album, Blak and Blu, the terrific Gary Clark Live from last year, and now The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. Indicative of the way Clark has been noticed of late is his recent appearance on the Jimmy Fallon Show, where Fallon acclaimed him as “one of the best performers out there right now,” and where he gave a superb performance of The Healing from the new album. “Music is our healing/When this world upsets me, this music sets me free.”
The Sonny Boy Slim from the new album’s title is, in fact, Clark himself. His mother used to call him Sonny Boy from time to time, and for Clark it conjures up images of some of his favourite artists, including Sonny Boy Williamson. On top of that Clark says that “Greg Izor, a great harmonica player, used to call me Slim every time he’d see me, and a couple of other folks called me that, so I just put them together.”
If the album has a theme, according to Clark, it is simply, “Through all the b*s*, there’s always hope.”
One of my favourite songs from the album is the largely acoustic, warm and soulful Church, which features Clark’s sisters, Shawn and Savannah, as harmony vocalists. The gospel music they shared growing up is clearly an underlying influence in this song. The song speaks of mistakes made, regrets, and nostalgia for better earlier times. “I was taught to be patient, I was taught to be kind, But I unwind…” is followed by “I’m all alone, Miles from home.”
But, although Clark himself makes no pretension of faith, nevertheless, the plaintive cry from the subject in the song comes through in aspirational tones:
“Aw my lord, I need your helping hand”
Says Clark of the song, “I think when you are having moments to reflect on challenges in your life or weariness, my folks always taught us to look for spiritual strength. Part of this [song is from] a chapter of my life, thinking about where I came from and where I want to go.”
Although Clark looks to music for his “healing” – “when this world upsets me, This music sets me free,” he’s surely right that ultimately when we face challenges, disappointments, failure or trouble, we need to look for some spiritual strength The question is – where are we going to find that? Is the music enough? Sometimes the labour is too great and the burden too much to carry, that we need something more – check out Matthew 11.28. “Aw my lord, I need your helping hand.”
downatthecrossroads 