Will Clark – Carolina Lightning
This is about as close as a city boy should get to the fiery bluegrass that Bill Monroe intended. In a modern-day tradition, this is a fiery display of heavy wood & rosin fiddle & mandolin picking. South Carolina’s Will Clark (lead vocal/mandolin) manages to craft his music with speed and precision, utilizing colorful vocalizing & the dynamic Kyle Dodson’s fiddle playing on the title tune, “Carolina Lightning,” which will take your breath away.
“These miles & miles of Texas have more holes than both my shoes,” is a sample lyric & this is what drives the hurricane winds of notes in Mr. Clark’s “Lost In Austin,” a cleverly written Greg Peece tune. There are 12 gratifying melodies to Carolina Lightning (Dropped Oct 10/Mountain Fever Records/39:00) in this ambitious project.
Will’s vocals are never whiny, aggressive, or overpowering. His voice is as musical as the fiddles that accompany him. “My Name Is Death” has a Charlie Daniels structure with electrifying guitar (Chevy Watson), banjo (Jason Davis) & fiddle (Ron Stewart) interaction that smokes. It’s all danceable with joyous foot stompin’ energy.
Will Clark never leads this horse down a novelty-tainted path because this music does, at times, get silly if not led carefully. Alison Krauss & Vince Gill are purveyors of serious bluegrass & Will Clark apparently is subscribing to that menu. He has humor & light-heartedness in economy throughout his repertoire. He’s a young musician who knows where he wants to take his musical endeavor. “A Different Kind of Loneliness” is another strong showcase.
The musicianship sparkles virtually on every track. The stories Will tells through the songs he’s chosen are all exuberant & many are probably showstoppers on the live circuit. “On My Way Back To You” would even put a sweat bead on Vince Gill’s brow & make the late John Hartford grin with envy. It’s short & sweet with blazing fiddles, banjos & guitars dueling like the dickens. Someone had blisters on their fingers.
The LP was recorded in VA & the CD packaging is a handsome display of lightning out in the distance over the golden fields. Mr. Clark, in the inner sleeve, looks more like a college professor with a Smith Brothers cough drops chin beard – quite a cool contrast to the impassioned music he pours from his album.
On “Black Water,” Will even comes across vocally as a male version of Alison Krauss. Warm, mellow, & retaining the necessary bluegrass propellant. With “Another Road,” he displays a textured, sincere Jefferson Ross-styled country-flavored vocal. These are good tunes.
An aurally likable, satisfying & consistent showcase.
Highlights – “Carolina Lightning,” “Lost In Austin,” “My Name Is Death,” “A Different Kind of Loneliness,” “On My Way Back To You,” “Sometimes You Just Can’t Win,” & “Another Road.”
Musicians – Gavin Stinson (bass), Watson, & Stinson (harmony vocals).
Color image courtesy of Mountain Fever. CD @ Amazon & https://mountainfever.com/new-music-alert-will-clarks-carolina-lightning-album-out-now/ & https://willclarkbluegrass.com/