Disco de Guy Clark: “Cold Dog Soup”

Descripción (en inglés) :

Personnel includes: Guy Clark (vocals, acoustic guitar); Verlon Thompson (acoustic, nylon-string & National resonator guitars, banjo, nylon-string banjo, harmonica, background vocals); Darrell Scott (acoustic & nylon-string acoustic guitars, dobro, mandolin, mandocello, autoharp, accordion, bass, background vocals); Shawn Camp (acoustic guitar, fiddle, background vocals); Emmylou Harris (background vocals). <p>Producers: Guy Clark, Verlon Thompson, Darrell Scott, Chris Latham. <p>Recorded at EMI Studio, Nashville, Tennessee. <p>When the roster of great Texas songwriters is called, the two names that usually tumble out first are Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. These two compatriots shared a gift for combining the simple and the poetic in an unassuming but endlessly memorable country/folk style. With Van Zandt's passing, Clark was left to shoulder the burden of Lone Star poet laureate alone (he's based out of Nashville these days, but you can't take Texas out of the boy). COLD DOG SOUP registers the presence of Van Zandt nevertheless; the opening song mentions him by name, and is followed by Steve Earle's Townes memorial "Ft. Worth Blues." <p>Nevertheless, Clark has always been fully his own man, and his unique vision is fully intact throughout the album. The songs are presented in a pared-down acoustic format, with Clark mostly accompanied only by Darrell Scott (mandolin) and Verlon Thompson (guitar). This allows the uncluttered, deceptively simple imagery of Clark's songs room to breathe. His weathered, gritty voice sounds full of wisdom as it delivers sharply observed truisms about the ups and downs of life, all the while maintaining a bemused but ultimately optimistic attitude.

Guy Clark has got an old soul. He's not that much older than me; yet, listening to his songs is a lot like listening to my granddad. For instance, on the first listen to this collection of great songs, I found myself thinking, "How's that again?" or wondering "What the hell does THAT mean?" So, I'd go back and really LISTEN again, and it'd hit me! "Man, that's great; I mean, that's REALLY great!" I'm reminded of the Joni Mitchell line, "The times you impress me the most are the times that you don't try." Guy doesn't even seem to be trying; he just sings it the way it is, and it bowls me over every time! My favorite songs are Cold Dog Soup; Sis Draper; Ain't No Trouble To Me; Water Under the Bridge; Red River; and, Die Tryin', but all the songs get better with every listen! Verlon Thompson's guitar and Darrell Scott's mandolin provide excellent accompaniment for Guy without gettin' in the way of the words. Thanks, Guy, for another great CD!

I think that this is Clark's best cd. Maybe his best songs are elsewhere, but all his studio records except this one gave the feeling that he was forced to get into the studio, to promote his live shows or his songs. For the first time he is relaxed and all the songs seems to flow from heaven to earth. Highly recommended for all lovers of singer songwriters and texas music, and great songs.

This is one of my favorite Guy Clark efforts. I love the marvellous mixture of the melancholic and the upbeat. Some highlights for me are the elegaic wistfulness of songs like Fort Worth Blues and Forever, for Always, for Certain. These lovely songs are nicely balanced by the energy displayed in such tunes as Sis Draper or Die Tryin'.

For me Guy Clark belong to that select band of singer/songwriters which include such luminaries as John Prine and Kris Kristofferson

For the Guy Clark initiated, Cold Dog Soup should meet and exceed all expectations. While the "how did he think of that?" song (Picasso's Mandolin, The Cape, etc.) has not jumped out after two listenings, the overall feel of the album is pure Guy. Perhaps sparser than his last couple of efforts in terms of instrumentation and production CDS makes me think he could sit right on my front porch and sound exactly like this (and wouldn't it be fun to have Emmylou there, too?).

For Guy Clark first-timers "Boats To Build", "The Craftsman" and his first album are better choices. Once you've worn those out you'll buy the rest anyway.

Guy Clark continues to show what great country music really is. In these days of Shania Twain and the like where country is really a form of pop with cowboy hats, here comes Guy Clark with "Cold Dog Soup" that reminds you that great music with poetry in the likes of Hank Williams,Merle Haggard Willy Nelson and Townes Van Zandt still gets recorded. This is the true stuff that makes you think and tap your feet at the same time. This is an incredible production! Great work Guy! From Fort Worth Blues a Steve Earl Song to Red River, man you oughta be proud! This should be on the charts! But with the current country scene forget it.. Oh yeah what a great line " Baby don't let um blow smoke up your dress...." Also if you haven't written the song, you really know how to choose someone elses material and make it yours.