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Feb 25, 2013His guitar and voice are at their best on the likes of opening Stax stomper Ain't Messin' 'Round and the heavy soul of When My Train Pulls In, Numb, and the funky Bright Lights--his guitar crunchy and full in a way you only get with good amps and pedals.
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Feb 22, 2013Large parts of Blak and Blu are spent crooning falsetto soul numbers or cranking out chunky rockers in the vein of the Stones and Bob Seger.
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Feb 21, 2013His own tunes range all over the place--Travis County is breathless garage-rock, The Life a debonair, Ne-Yo-like homage to idleness--but the quality is uniformly high.
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Feb 12, 2013What remains is an adequate compilation of nostalgic sounds, largely void of Clark’s unique voice. Greater consistency would have worked wonders.
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Q MagazineFeb 12, 2013Gary Clark, Jr merges smooth vocals with economical guitar wizardry and makes it all sound less wearyingly pub-rock by embracing the 21st century. [Mar 2013, p.95]
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MojoFeb 6, 2013Producers Mike Elizondo and Rob Cavallo smooth away many of the rough edges, and it's the tracks that escape the industry sander that are great. [Mar 2013, p.87]
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UncutFeb 4, 2013The result is a fresh and invigoratingly modern take on black music and as far removed from a musical history lesson as you get. [Mar 2013, p.69]
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Nov 20, 2012And yet, despite such growing pains, Clark's penchant for restless, exploratory tangents ensures that Blak and Blu hits like a ton of bricks.
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Nov 15, 2012Blak and Blu throbs more like a lava lamp turned upside, a red-line splat of molten nightlife served on a huge sonic bed only achieved by major label productions.
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Nov 8, 2012There is an earnestness to Blak & Blu, even in its bumpier moments, that holds your attention, even if it's the testosterone fueled bombast that initially grabs it by the throat.
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Nov 2, 2012Blak & Blu proves that an outstanding talent isn't predicated on having a signature song, and that the 28-year-old is worthy of the hype thrown his way.
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Nov 1, 2012Blak and Blu is the very definition of a bellwether, and the resounding answer to all of the many who have predicted such greatness.
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Nov 1, 2012By trying to please all demographics here, Clark gives little sense of who he is.
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Oct 30, 2012Blak and Blu's production (by Rob Cavallo and Mike Elizondo in collaboration with Clark) is too polished and processed for its own good, but if this album isn't likely to change your life, it will make an hour of it a lot more interesting, and there's no arguing that Gary Clark, Jr. is a talent strong enough to match his record company's hype.
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Oct 26, 2012In a perfect world, he'd have everything necessary to run the blues flag worldwide; for now, we'll have to settle for something merely enjoyable.
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Oct 24, 2012Though Clark can occasionally get self-indulgent (some of the jammier songs here drift past the six-minute mark), his casual charisma is powerful enough to consistently hold together Blak and Blu's eclecticism.
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Oct 24, 2012Blak & Blu certainly isn't legendary. But it's a pretty good start.
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Oct 24, 2012Clark can do it all and it's entirely likely that Blak And Blu will be recognized in the future as a moment when American music suddenly got a great deal more interesting.
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Oct 23, 2012Blak and Blu pays off; it's not a perfect album, but it is bold and exciting.
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Oct 23, 2012As is, our appetite has only been whetted and not satiated.
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Oct 23, 2012The guitarist's musical openness is admirable. But Blak and Blu sounds like he's just trying on different styles
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Oct 23, 2012Clark's talent is undeniable, but only when he's not flogging it half to death.
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Oct 23, 2012Clark's refusal to be pigeonholed as merely a great axman results in a diverse, sometimes confounding record that exhibits a still-evolving oeuvre while still showcasing the chops that got him to this point in his career.
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Oct 23, 2012On this album, it's still his blues that cut deepest.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 13
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Mixed: 2 out of 13
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Negative: 1 out of 13
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Nov 14, 2013
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Dec 6, 2012
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Nov 19, 2012