Dublin Blues

Guy Clark

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 1995)
• Original Release Date: April 4, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asylum Records
• ASIN: B000002HGU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,665 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #27 in	Music > Indie Music > Country > Country Folk
  #32 in	Music > Indie Music > Country > Alt-Country & Americana
  #37 in	Music > Indie Music > Folk

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Guy Clark is a slow worker. Dublin Blues is only his seventh album since his debut, "Old No. 1," appeared in '75. The silver-haired Texan has praised the patient, meticulous process of hands-on craftmanship in songs like "The Carpenter," "Boats to Build," and "Jack of All Trades," and obviously applies the same approach to his own songwriting. The time is well spent, for this batch of songs resembles fine furniture; the words and music fit together so precisely that there's nary a seam nor a wobble. Clark's limitations are the same as ever. The cramped dimensions of his vocal tone and range make Johnny Cash sound like Luciano Pavarotti, and his easy-going, clip-clop midtempo rhythms are too unvarying for their own good. Admiring friends such as Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, and Sam Bush make the harmonies surrounding Clark especially rich on "Dublin Blues," and Ramblin' Jack Elliott (the subject of an earlier Clark song) sings a duet vocal on "Hangin' Your Life on the Wall," a defiant anthem on old folks who refuse to slow down. The heart of any Guy Clark album, though, is the writing, and the writing on Dublin Blues is the work of a dogged perfectionist. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars texastentialism at its best, May 10, 2000

By	william woolum (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews

Guy Clark's *Dublin Blues* has the feel of a diamond cutter at work. Every word, every phrase is like a diamond cutter's blow, exact, giving more by cutting excess away. "Dublin Blues", the title cut, portrays a haunted, worldly guy -- he's been to Spain, seen the David, heard Doc Watson -- but his heart is broken, he longs for forgiveness, and none of the beauty he's found in the world can relieve his sufferering. It's the first of a series of searching, bluesy country songs exploring loss, hope, faith, dreams, and grief. If you like minimalist art, if you enjoy laconic, soulful songs and pared down musical arrangements, Guy Clark's *Dublin Blues* achieves near perfection.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I hear something new and profound at every listening., April 15, 1999

By A Customer

I cannot listen to Guy Clark without hearing something new at every playing. This guy always seems to be talking directly to me. As far as the Amazon reviewer mentioning a limited range and tone and clip-clop tempos... he has totally missed the whole point of Guy Clark. I can't imagine anyone else doing his songs as well as he does or anyone "improving" his songs by changing anything about them. They are LIFE. They are TRUTH. They are PROFOUND. The feelings of every son to every father are in "The Randall Knife". I hope I'm living my life with "The Cape" tied around my neck; if you're not, why are you here? Haven't you met people you wished would "Shut Up and Talk To Me"? I could go on, but I hope my point is clear: This guy Clark "KNOWS" and can craft and create in words and music the things we should all be aware of in our own lives. He's not just writing about life in the abstract, at a distance. He's been there and has much to tell us, if we will take the time to listen.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars masterpiece, June 2, 2006

By	J. Johnson "Allman Brothers obsessive" (Manassas, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here I am in Dublin...from there I'm hooked. Some of Guy's best writing. The title tune with the odd acoustic riff and the spooky sense of sorrow and joy at the same time. "Stuff That Works", the collaboration with Rodney Crowell that includes a really sweet turn toward Guy's wife Suzannah, "Black Diamond Strings", the obligitory this could be a drunken sing along song if you want it to be, not to mention a tip of the cap to Rodney and those strings every guitar player started out with.

The highlight though is a beautiful version of what is arguably the best song Guy has ever written, "The Randall Knife." It's one of those songs that when its over you say if I could write anything as good as any line in that song I could die a happy man. The tune about a relationship with a father is one most of us can relate to.

This is one another of those take it to a desert island records. Buy it today