By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
BLUES REVISITED
Magic Sam circa 1968
A
lthough he’s been offered the blues
savior crown with great fanfare, if
you listen to Gary Clark Jr.’s latest
release, The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (Warner
Bros.) it’s clear that he’s not interested in
accepting any prescribed traditions.
Actually, any fan who’s followed his rise
from unknown Austin, TX guitarist to young
blues guitar hero over the last few years
could tell you that Gary Clark Jr. does not
like to be pigeonholed. Sure, he masterfully
honored blues tradition on his riveting 2012
debut Blak and Blu and besides Bonnie
Raitt’s soulful singing and playing, it was
Gary’s stinging guitar licks that authentically honored the King of The Blues during the
B.B. King tribute at the Grammy Awards last
14 illinoisentertainer.com march 2016
month. Gary Clark Jr. respects and understands the blues to the point that he refuses
to stuff it into the narrow box that the genre
has been regulated to. Some fans might see
the 13 tracks of The Story of Sonny Boy Slim as
a smattering of genres with blues underscoring some, but a more holistic perspective is
that Gary is honoring all the fruits while still
maintaining the roots. The album's opener,
“Healing,” unfurls with an old man singing
about being “on the battlefield for Jesus.”
Aiming his guitar like a weapon for salvation, he sings about music being our salvation and backs it up with soul-connecting
blues riffs. The hip hop beats on "The
Grinder" blend into blues melodies as Gary
details the ugliness of poverty and material-
ism. With just the first two tracks, he manages to dip into the traditional blues themes
of salvation and struggle and reinterpret
them from his own perspective. Perspective
plays a huge role on Sonny Boy Slim.
Although he’s insisted that the album’s not
autobiographical, the title refers to both his
nickname and the name of the blues guitar
slinging character he played in the evocative
2007 movie Honeydripper. Both reflect his
connection to the past and his determination
to use it for transformation. Gary Clark Jr. is
noted as an enthralling blues guitarist yet
this album is not focused on the instrument.
Instead, he uses his guitar as an accent
and thread through the range of genres that
sprung from the blues. On “Star” he borrows
from the funk traditions of Sly and Prince
and “Hold On” references Memphis soul,
complete with horns but employs Hip Hop
phrasing to address systemic racism. He
dips back into his foundation with the country blues of "Church," which uses harp and
acoustic guitar to illustrate the desperation
of a man trying to live up to his lover’s
expectations. “Cold Blooded” calls up a funk
groove with a rock base that creates an irresistible marriage of sounds. On "Shake," he
literally shakes off all of the lingering expectations and lets loose into a full juke joint
blues stomp.
The Story of Sonny Boy Slim topped the
Billboard blues chart when it was released in
the fall and Gary’s thoughtful exploration of
blues and its iterations demonstrate that the
future of the blues is a lot more expansive
than many ever imagined.
Magic Sam’s riveting blues sound was
also considered expansive when he hit the
West Side blues scene in the