25 Records of Christmas, Day 15: Gary Clark Jr.

Normally I don’t just listen to an album once and make a decision on it. Sometimes it happens, especially if the first few tracks aren’t the best. I’m not one to skip through and look for the best songs. That said, I made a decision on Gary Clark Jr. pretty early on, when I first heard his debut. I’m including it in my top albums of the year, even though my feelings are still mixed. Despite my issues with it, I’m still listening to the album pretty regularly. So what gives?

Here’s the issue: I was a firm believer in Gary Clark Jr. when he dropped his Bright Lights EP late last year. The EP had a raw, garage sound to it, and Clark’s soulful vocals did nothing but make the music sound even better. It was simple, guitar and drums and the vocals, making for such a deep sound to the entire record. There’s a stark contrast between the EP and the full-length album. While you still hear a lot of what makes Clark a solid entertainer, the entire process has been polished off. 

There’s a lot more R&B flavor, seen in songs like the title track (which features barely any guitar licks from the man) or “The Life”, which sounds like your typical pop tune for the radio. What seems to have happened to Gary Clark Jr. is that the record label wants to turn him into a pop/rock star, and in the process, they’ve lost some of what it seems he was all about. It’s not that the songs are bad. It’s more that they’re trying to change him. 

Thankfully, a good handful of the tracks are similar to what was heard on the EP. In fact, the tracks from the EP are present on Blak and Blu, albeit reworked and cleaned up. "Bright Lights" is the signature track here, capturing the essence of what Clark is: an entertainer, brilliant guitarist, and smooth vocalist. “When My Train Pulls In” is still a stellar track from Clark, featuring brilliant licks and longer solos for him to demonstrate his talent on. The lead single, “Numb” is probably the dirtiest, most rough sounding tune on this collection, making it a winner for Clark for sure. Even the nearly 10 minute epic towards the end of the album keeps much of what Clark started last year, leading up to a brilliant Hendrix-like solo to round it out. Even the bonus tracks on the iTunes version (“Breakdown” and “Soul”, respectively) sound more like something that should have been focused on more.

So the final verdict: Is Gary Clark Jr.’s debut full-length everything we’d hoped for? No. Does it still work as a solid debut and give you a reason to listen, to form your own opinion? A resounding yes. Each time I listen to Blak and Blu, I like the more guitar-focused tracks more, and like the pop tunes a little bit more. Maybe this one just needs more time to spin for it to become a classic. The guy is brilliant, and I can't wait to see where he goes from here.