Lover's Plea | |
Type: | studio |
Artist: | W. C. Clark |
Cover: | Lover's Plea.jpg |
Released: | 1998 |
Recorded: | December 1997 |
Studio: | Pedernales |
Genre: | Blues |
Label: | Black Top |
Producer: | Hammond Scott, Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff |
Prev Title: | Texas Soul |
Prev Year: | 1995 |
Next Title: | From Austin with Soul |
Next Year: | 2002 |
Lover's Plea is an album by the American musician W. C. Clark, released in 1998.[1] [2] It was his third album for Black Top Records.[3] Clark supported the album with a North American tour.[4] The album was nominated for a W. C. Handy Award for "Soul Blues Album" of the year.[5]
The album was coproduced by Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff.[6] Clark was backed by Double Trouble on several tracks; the Kamikaze Horns appeared on a few.[7] "Are You Here, Are You There?" is about Clark's late fiancée, who died in an accident when Clark lost control of his tour van; his drummer was also killed.[8] "Pretty Little Mama" is dedicated to Clark's daughter.[9] "I'm Hooked on You" is a cover of the Al Green song. "Sunshine Lady" employed a gospel choir.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that "sensuous falsettos and gritty stylings melt into a rich, soulful voice with hints of Al Green and O.V. Wright... It's just the right blend of elegance and grit for this album, a rumination about the joys and sorrows of love." The Advocate noted that "soul meets the blues in the Austin, Texas-bred, horns-blessed sound."[10] The Chicago Tribune called the album "a perfect 7-10 split of tough, shuffling Lone Star blues and punchy Stax-style soul driven home with taut, tart fretwork and molasses rich vocals."[11]
The Age concluded that, "like Albert King, Clark is a gifted crooner and, like Syl Johnson, he can inject his material with the strongest whiskey-toned voice around."[12] The Daily Herald said: "A bright but sly guitar player himself, Clark laces his playing smoothly through his songs so the feeling isn't tromped, merely accented with a punch."[13] The Los Angeles Times determined that "Clark's voice mesmerizes on songs about girls that made him happy and those that did not—the blues in a nutshell."
AllMusic wrote that "Clark's vocals here are nothing short of eloquent while his guitar stings and stabs with the best of them."