Old No. 1

Guy Clark | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: DBK WORKS
• ASIN: B000Z7G7JG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #223,582 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Guy Clark's debut from 1975 is one of the all time classic country singer-songwriter records. By the time of its release the Texas native had been shopping his tunes in Nashville for a few years and the songs from Old No. 1 were already well aged and often covered. Regardless, though Clark considers himself more a songwriter than recording artist, nobody holds a candle to these performances. From the rollicking Texas swing of opener Rita Ballou to the finger picked heartbreak of closer Let Him Roll there is not a stinker to be found. Features help from Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and a young Steve Earle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite albums, July 13, 2009

By 

Ralph Hatcher "Ralph Hatcher, MD" (Butler University, Indianpolis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old No. 1 (MP3 Download)

I first heard this album when Jim Lex introduced it to me in 1983. I can't count how many times I've listened to it over the years, but it never gets old. I have raised up a new generation of Guy Clark fans when my kids and I would listen to "Old No. 1" on long road trips back to see the grand parents.

Clark has mastered not only the genre of east-Texas roadhouse ballads, but his soul-searching, sometimes painful lyrics are of the stuff that touches those of us who have lived interesting but tough lives filled with toil, regrets and occasional successes. Every song in this selection has an insight or a message for me, and seems to effect others who take the time to really listen in the same way. The line "It's all done with mirrors..." in "Instant Coffee Blues" will perhaps be a revelation for some listeners, but a clear metaphor to those of us that life has left a little tattered and cynical.

"Old No. 1" has become a favorite of many people, young and old, that I have shared it with. Guy Clark never got all the recognition he deserves but this album will show you why he has a devoted following, even thirty years later.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars country classic, October 5, 2010

By 

Donald E. Gilliland (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old No. 1 (Audio CD)

I first saw Guy Clark on an episode of "Austin City Limits" back in the mid-1970s and was just blow away by him and his songs. I went out and bought this album and still regard it as his best collection of songs. The followup, "Texas Cookin' was nearly as good too; both albums chock full of great songs with brilliant lyrics. The fact that so many of the songs on this album have been covered by other artists is another testament to its greatness. And "Old No. 1" is certainly one of the greatest country albums ever recorded.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where Redneck Rock-Progressive Country Started, March 5, 2010

By 

Hammerhead (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old No. 1 (Audio CD)

It started with this recording by Guy Clark and 'Phases and Stages' by Willie Nelson.