The Dark

Guy Clark

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 17, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sugarhill
• ASIN: B00006IGTH
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,794 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The highest praise Guy Clark can hear about one of his songs is that his album-opening "Mud" could pass for the bluesy philosophizing of Townes Van Zandt. Clark additionally pays tribute to his late songwriting buddy by covering Van Zandt's "Rex's Blues," while the closing title track brings this song cycle full circle, thematically. Though not all the material has the depth of those three standouts, Clark's weathered vocals benefit from the recording's organic interplay of acoustic instruments and vocal harmonies, with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings providing guest support on "Arizona Star." "Magnolia Wind" finds plain-spoken poetry in the lilt of a country waltz, while "Bag of Bones" suggests that few writers are better than Clark at evoking folks on the verge of falling apart but somehow holding things together. While much of The Dark finds Clark slipping into some pretty familiar grooves, the collaboration with Terry Allen on "Queenie's Song" refutes the adage that you can't teach old dogs new tricks. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not quite up to snuff, July 9, 2004

By A Customer

I normally wouldn't dare to say anything negative about a Guy Clark cd, but all of the rave reviews here need some balance. To put my opinion in perspective, Guy Clark is my favorite artist and I own all of his albums (including the LPs of his 3 warner bros. albums that you can only get on "Craftsman"). That said, this is his "worst" record (none of them are bad), and with the quality of all his other albums, I rarely ever listen to this one. I believe one reason is that ALL of the songs are co-written with other artists. That is not something that Guy did in his prime, although he has been leaning more towards that practice recently, perhaps by design. In any event, my point is, you may want to listen to the album before you buy to make sure the $17 is worth it. As for myself, if I had it to do all over again, I would have burned a copy from a friend. If you a relative newcomer to Guy Clark, begin with Old No. 1, Texas Cookin', and Dublin Blues.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never Disappointed and Always Amazed, September 18, 2002

By	Kelly Kiemele "ktwok22" (Mandan, ND United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although Guy Clark has been a favorite of mine for years, his ability to weave words and music always amazes me. In listening to the songs on this CD you truely believe that he understands the need for "Soldiers Joy", the sadness there'd be if there were no were no "Magnolia" Wind or the hardship and misunderstanding of "Homeless". Throughout these songs, his poetry and storytelling evokes feelings and word images that we've come to expect and appreciate from Guy Clark. He's done it again. Great listening.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent, deep, satisfying, October 29, 2005

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

The Dark is typical Guy Clark-deep ruminations on life's complexities, touches of lighthearted whimsey, compassion and pure vitriol. A potent mix that when placed with outstanding music and Guy's weathered vocals produces one of the most satisfying discs of the year.

Mud reminds us where we come from and where we go. Songs like Arizona Star, Soldiers Joy, Dancing Days and Homeless sound like they could have been true stories. The title tune is on a par with The Randall Knife-about the highest praise I can give a song.

The only reason this disc is not a 5 star project is that it isn't as good as Keepers, Boat's to Build or Dublin Blues. But its REALLY good. Probably 4 and a half stars is most accurate. Buy this today