"My Favorite Picture of You" or "This review is probably too personal . . ."

If there has been a constant vocal presence in my life it has been Guy Clark's half whisper, half raspy wail coming through fuzzy speakers. I grew up in a house hold with a songwriter and picker, and Guy Clark was my stepdaddy's deepest inspiration. This makes sense, he is the 'songwriter's songwriter' ( though if you ask Mr. Clark he will tell him he hates that title because you don't make a living that way), but more than that he was a hard living man with a spark of humor that permeates every thing he writes from the most serious and sad on down to silly songs about fruit. This was my stepdaddy, Bill, in a nutshell. He died while working through falling off the wagon when I was 18, just a few days before my prom and I still remember the last things he said to me were that he was going to have to start cheering for those 'dirty sooner bastards' because I had received a full ride to the University of Oklahoma, and bragging that he had bought a crimson and cream jersey (but was pretending it was for Alabama). He and Guy were two peas shelled from the same pod, eternal troublemakers and jokers.

I've listened to very little Guy Clark (or Townes Van Zandt . . .or Steve Earl) since Bill's death. It just hurts too much to hear these men whose lyrics I'd had memorized since I was a little girl, men whose voices constantly echoed through our home mixed with laughter or screaming or mismatched guitar. Guy Clark especially is the soundtrack to my childhood, the trigger for the memory of every hug and fight I had with my stepdaddy. It is good music, but you will have to forgive me for putting it away for a time.

With all the buzz around Guy's new album "My favorite Picture of You" I feel like I am obligated to finally spend more than a minute or two listening to his voice. I am glad I sat down and took a listen to this album, very glad. I am not the kind of person to go this is the Guy's version of *insert final album of elder statesmen of country or folk of your choice*, but I will tell you I am very impressed with the level of nostalgia, regret, and general aged wisdom that this album exudes from the very first chords of the first song, "cornmeal waltz."

I imagine that if you are a long time Guy Clark fan you will not be disappointed. He has lost none of his humor, honesty, or talent. For new listeners this is the album I would most likely recommend for younger listeners. I do not think it contains the best single songs, or has the best over all composition of his career, but I do think that it has great quality of sound, and I think that Guy is mellowing with age and his sound now is something that is more likely to appeal to people who are accustomed to the cleaner sounding indie folk like Iron and Wine or Mumford and Sons.

I think that if you are older than 30 then it really depends on how country you like things. If you prefer a more rock sound I would say his self named album is probably the best *though you should be aware that he never gets much away from twangy country, there is even some yodeling*. I personally love "Texas Cookin" so if you like country or more ballad type music you should give it a listen.

I really did like the title song very much, but I think that it may be a little overhyped. My personal favorites on this album are "The High Price of Inspiration" and "Hellbent on a Heartache" . The first is just so personal. I really believe that Guy put everything he had into this song. The effect of listening to it is like hearing someone's inner monologue on their worst qualities. It is just masterfully written. "Hellbent on a Heartache" is just one of those songs that I think almost everyone can relate to at some point in their life. It is sort of wistful and angry more than it is sad. Reminds me a lot of "Comfort and Crazy" but less personal, or rather less attached. It is the same song but with the lover removed. I just loved it.

The point is that this album is full of great music, most importantly great lyrics, and you can listen to it *for free* on  Guy's Website along with most if not all of his other music, and I would encourage you to purchase from the site as well. I don't think I will be able to put Mr. Clark away for any amount of time again. . .now I am going to go cuddle into a blanket and cry for a while.