Tom Clarke

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Posts by Tom Clarke:

The Cash Box Kings Oscar’s Motel

Tom Clarke americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock March 10, 2023

The Cash Box Kings Oscar’s Motel Alligator Records Blues fanatics of course, but certainly the culturally minded and perhaps most crucially, regular Joe’s, all should spend at least one night in a classic Chicago blues club. Add it to the bucket list, because soaking up that vibe with a blistering band tearing it down can […]

CD Reviews/ CD Reviews Americana/ CD Reviews INDIE Blues

The Band of Heathens Simple Things

Tom Clarke americana, Indie Rock, pop, roots, roots rock, songwriter March 9, 2023

The Band of Heathens Simple Things BOH Records The title to the 1978 Nick Lowe classic, Pure Pop for Now People, popped into my head while listening to Simple Things, The Band of Heathens’ eighth album of original material and 13th overall. If this isn’t pure popular music for everyone right now, I don’t know […]

CD Reviews/ CD Reviews Country Rock/ CD Reviews Indie Country

The Shootouts Stampede

Tom Clarke americana, asleep at the wheel, Country, indie country, roots, roots rock, songwriter February 4, 2023

The Shootouts Stampede Soundly Music The Shootouts never expected to engage in this level of glittering hoedown showdown, and certainly not so quickly following the success of their 2021 Top 10 Americana album, Bullseye. But they could not get out of the way of this Stampede, certainly not with Ray Benson driving it. The renowned […]

CD Reviews/ CD Reviews INDIE Blues

Johnny Nicholas A Tribute to Moon Mullican, Volumes 1 & 2

Tom Clarke americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock January 24, 2023

Johnny Nicholas A Tribute to Moon Mullican, Volumes 1 & 2 Valcour Records Aubrey Wilson “Moon” Mullican (1909-1967) is considered by many to have been the king of honky-tonk pianists during the 1930s and ‘40s. None other than Jerry Lee Lewis covered several of Mullican’s songs and sang his praises for the ways he bridged […]

CD Reviews/ CD Reviews INDIE Blues

Damon Fowler & Friends Live at the Palladium

Tom Clarke americana, blues, blues rock, damon fowler, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock January 12, 2023

Damon Fowler & Friends Live at the Palladium Landslide Records A very special night this turned out to be. Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Damon Fowler and his band tore it up, threw it down, stomped on it, and on occasion smoothed it over at their show in St. Petersburgh, Florida this past July. Live at […]

CD Reviews/ CD Reviews INDIE Blues

Tom Clarke’s Top 12 Blues CD’s of 2022

Tom Clarke americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock December 16, 2022

Making a Scene Presents Tom Clarke’s Twelve Favorite Roots and Blues Studio Albums of 2022 Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am the Moon – Concord Records Derek Trucks may be the most brilliant and expressive guitarist of his generation, his wife Susan Tedeschi the finest rock and soul singer, and their 12-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band […]

Crop-Samantha-Fish-Jesse-Dayton-Stardust-Sessions

CD Reviews/ CD Reviews Americana/ CD Reviews INDIE Blues

Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton The Stardust Sessions

Tom Clarke americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, roots, roots rock December 6, 2022

Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton The Stardust Sessions Rounder Records (digital) A massive front of low-pressure dustbowl country crashed head-on into high-pressure blues and rock ‘n’ roll when Austin’s Jesse Dayton and Kansas City’s Samantha Fish hit a New Orleans studio together. Their hellacious storm of a debut album dubbed Death Wish Blues drops this […]

CD Reviews/ CD Reviews INDIE Blues

Bywater Call Remain

Tom Clarke americana, blues, blues rock, indie Blues, Rock, roots, roots rock November 20, 2022

Bywater Call Remain Gypsy Soul Records Maple Blues Award winners Bywater Call have drawn a fair share of parallels to Tedeschi Trucks Band since emerging in Toronto in 2017. Remain will likely bolster those comparisons, but also cement the distinctive character of this seven-member group through their gripping performances of eleven original songs. This […]