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Blues Underground Network |
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Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark
"Raw"
It is not long after "Raw" starts,
that the waves of Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's Harmonica playing gentle
sweep through the speakers, giving us all a sneak preview of the
great Harpfest to follow.
Originally hailing out of York, Pennsylvania, Anthony
'Swamp Dog' Clark now resides in Washington D.C. area where he is regarded
as one of the best Harmonica players around. Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark has
thrilled audiences up and down the East Coast, for years, with not only
his masterful harmonica playing, but also for his amazingly talented
showmanship. 2010 further brought Anthony to the spotlight with him
winning the Washington D.C. Blues Battle, as well as, making it to the
semifinals of this years 2011 International Blues Challenge, in Memphis.
In addition to also being a staple at many Blues Festivals, Anthony 'Swamp
Dog' Clark is also highly sought after as a player on others
projects, which recently included a soon to be released project, featuring
himself, Kenny Neal, and Memphis Gold.
Joining Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark on "Raw", is his amazing
band, which he refers to as, The Blues Allstars and include Charles "Reds"
Adkins (Bass), Ken Sparks (Guitar), Glenn Alexander (Guitar), and Andy
Hamberger (Drums). "Raw" was produced by Anthony Clark with Andy Hamberger
getting credit as Associate Producer. Special Guest appearances on "Raw",
included Nadine Rae and Linwood Taylor, both massive talents in their
own rights, which they had no problem showing us with Nadine's
heavenly vocals on "Do Unto Others" and Linwood's searing Guitar work on
two instrumental Tracks "Jump" and "Moanin".
"Raw" consists of 7 straight ahead no nonsense blues of
which 5 Tracks are originals by Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark. For the covers
on "Raw", Anthony chose a couple of great songs, with the first being
James Cotton's "One More Mile To Go". I found a few versions of "One More
Mile To Go" in which one where James Cotton plays it real slow and the
other is done at a fairly fast tempo. Anthony chose to play this one at
pretty close to Cotton's faster tempo version and after listening to the
both of them, I must say that Anthony did a really good job and certainly
justice to that fine song.
The second cover on "Raw" was
"Hoochie Coochie Man", which is "sometimes referred to as (I'm Your)
Hoochie Coochie Man", and which is of course the "blues standard
written by Willie Dixon and first performed by Muddy Waters in 1954". WikiPedia has a list of over 30
Artists that have covered "Hoochie Coochie Man", which included well known
Blues artists, such as, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and Etta James, and
surprisingly enough a few artists for which when you think of the Blues,
their names don't come to mind, such as Supertramp, Motorhead,
Steppenwolf, and the New York Dolls. Muddy Waters original version,
which I found on YouTube clocked in at 2:53, and is perhaps one
of the shortest versions of that song. Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's version
clocks in at an epic 8:35, and for it's shear rawness and
intensity, courtesy Anthony's great Vocals and Harmonica, as well as
the rest of the bands great playing, this version of "Hoochie Coochie
Man", will certainly be considered an enormous tribute to Willie
Dixon.
Beyond Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's amazing talent as an
Harmonica player, he is also a very talented singer and songwriter, of
which you become aware of his singing talent right off the bat, with
the opening Track "One More Mile To Go" and his songwriting and arranging
talent with the next 5 Tracks on "Raw", of which 3 are wonderful
instrumentals which show off, not only his skills with Harmonica, but also
the wonderful talent of all the other artists involved with this
production.
Picking a couple of favorites off an exceptionally good
album, such as "Raw" is never easy, so I decided to pick my favorite
regular song and my favorite instrumental, with the regular song being,
the amazingly done cover "Hoochie Coochie Man" and the equally amazing
instrumental, "Jump".
"Raw" marked my first introduction to Anthony 'Swamp Dog'
Clark, an introduction which thoroughly impressed me. I am very grateful
for Anthony reaching out to me and acquainting me with his music, for
which I hope he continues to put out on a fairly regular basis.
"Raw" is an album I have no problem
Highly Recommending, especially for those of you whom are fans of superb
blues harmonica playing, for which Anthony 'Swamp Dog' Clark's is one
of the best out there
today.
Review by John Vermilyea (Blues
Underground
Network)
Additional
Info
Tracklist
1. One More Mile To Go 5:01
2. Do Unto Others 5:04 3. Jump 6:39 4. Moanin 3:09 5. Old Man 3:19 6. Swamp Dog Shuffle 3:19 7. Hoochie Coochie Man 8:38
Listen To Samples Here...
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