Hard Way

William Clarke | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B000000A1A
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,447 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars William Clarke Blows The Door Off The Joint, February 3, 2002

By 

peter krampert (eharmonica.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Way (Audio CD)

The world of Blues harmonica has a competitive edge like no other. When two harmonica players get together, it generally leads to an all-out musical brawl to see who can outplay who. In Chicago "headcutting" sessions have left competitors dazed and bleeding since the 1930's. There is little room in the world of Blues for harp players to consider each other equals.

Once in a great while a talent shines through that makes all the rest of us stand in awe. William Clarke was one such talent and like many of his forerunners, Clarke shined just long enough for us to get just a taste of his enormous talent before burning out. William Clarke played the harmonica with a power and authority rarely seen.

Clarke, not content to simply copy his heroes, explores deeply into the world of Jump Blues and Jazz. This CD clearly shows that had he not did of his own excesses, Clarke could have been an instrumentalist equal to any of his peers on the harmonica or any other instrument for that matter.

Harmonica players should purchase this album to hear some amazing harmonica playing. Blues fans should purchase this CD to hear what a harmonica can sound like in the hands of a master. Music fans should purchase this albums to get over their prejudices of the harmonica's place in the world of music.

This is definitely an album you should purchase.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last work of William Clarke genious, June 19, 2000

By 

Fedor Romanenko (Moscow, Russia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Way (Audio CD)

William Clarke still remains the most influential person for blues harp players even now after his sudden death in 1996. His musical career began at 70s and in 90s he recorded four excellent CDs on Alligator. The last album - The Hard Way was released just before his death. Coincidence is that Clarke recorded dead march at the beginning of one Hard Way's track.

The Hard Way differs from previous albums mainly by increased jazz influence in a fusion with his well-known swinging and jumping blues. Most titles are played on chromatic harp. First one - The Boss is a long instrumental with unique harp melodic line played all through the song. Special sound effect is achieved by playing harp riffs along with horns section. That makes some jazzy feeling, 'cause harp somewhere is playing saxophone role, but having meanwhile stronger and fresher sound.

Clarke is a genuine blues aesthete, who liked blues most among other styles and devoted to it all of his music talent. His musical style differs from other known good blues musicians, who came from plantation with strong "roots feeling" but without influence of big music. Clarke's blues is very educated and intellectual, he took the best from experience of blues fathers who invented modern blues step by step sometimes unconsciously. However that very typical to jazzmen style characteristics do not mean that Clarke leaves or betrays blues genre. His stuff remains very bluesy, and besided we can say that his music is defining modern blues.

Each Clarke records is interesting not only because of him playing as a harp virtuoso. He had special taste on playing blues and had gathered a band of best serious blues musicians. Each recorded song is played along with jumping and swinging rhythm section and contains great guitar riffs and solos, performed by such guitarists as Alex Shultz. This fine blues orchestra, arranged by William Clarke, is playing half of his own written stuff, and sounds like real good blues band have to sound for Clarke's taste. (And for mine - too!)

I miss Clarke much and also miss 5 other albums, which he recorded on vinil when he was not so popular, but had been never reissued on CD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No softie !, September 18, 2000

By 

Ozzie (Brugge, Flanders) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Way (Audio CD)

Right from the opening track, the instrumental "The boss" William Clarke shows you he's no softie ! Extremely powerful blues harp playing few could equal, let alone surpass. Even his singing has vastly improved on this album. It's so sad that this man had to die so suddenly, just when he was becoming one of the big names in contemporary blues. This man was so versatile and talented, it's a real loss for music lovers in general ! As a dedicated jazz fan, I found this album to be cookin' and groovin' all the way ! This is the kind of man that was a great musician who totally blew away anybody that was fortunate enough to get to listen to him on CD or in concert !