Search - William Clarke :: Vol. 1-Early Years

Vol. 1-Early Years
William Clarke
Vol. 1-Early Years
Genre: Blues
 
  •  Track Listings (14) - Disc #1

A collection of Bill's self-produced recordings made between 1978 and 1985. Recorded live in-studio, with a hastily assembled group of musicians on a 'spur-of-the-moment' schedule. Players include Hollywood Fats, George 'H...  more »

     
?

Larger Image

CD Details

All Artists: William Clarke
Title: Vol. 1-Early Years
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: HEP CAT RECORDS
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 10/21/2008
Album Type: CD, Special Limited Edition
Genre: Blues
Style:
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 880336003629

Synopsis

Product Description
A collection of Bill's self-produced recordings made between 1978 and 1985. Recorded live in-studio, with a hastily assembled group of musicians on a 'spur-of-the-moment' schedule. Players include Hollywood Fats, George 'Harmonica' Smith and Smokey Wilson.
 

CD Reviews

Nice addition to the catalog!
Robert Miller | San Francisco, USA | 10/02/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The songs on volume I cover the years 1978-1985 and offer a glimpse of William Clarke in his formative years. The 14 songs contained here are fully formed, and Clarke's harp work couldn't be better.



Clarke's mentor George "Harmonica" Smith handles vocals on tracks 4 and 8. Smokey Wilson sings lead on track 11, and Cardell Boyette sings lead on track 13. Clarke plays a nice fat harp on all the songs, and handles vocals on the rest of the non-instrumentals.



There are at least 2 backing bands on this recording (3 if you want to include the "band unknown" on tracks 4 and 8). Backing guitarists include Hollywood Fats, Craig Printup, Smokey Wilson, Rick Holmstrom, while Fred Kaplan plays both guitar and piano. But the real star is Clarke, and he proves he can handle the job, both as a leader and as a great harp man with great vocals.



This is a wonderful addition to William Clarke's legacy. The music contained here shows a great harp player before he came to wide attention of blues fans through his Alligator releases. And there was nowhere to go for him but up. Each of his albums is a treasure. Thank you William Clarke! You left us too early!"