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The Sound of the Moon

The Sound Of The Moon
Terry Clarke on Appaloosa Records

Every once in awhile, I get an impulse, never followed up on, to see if anybody's still writing poetry, and if so, if it's any good. I lost touch after Robert Lowell died, so it's perfectly possible that poetry is thriving. I tend to doubt it though because I see too many people like Terry Clarke who would, quite clearly, have been writing poetry had they been born 20 or 30 years earlier, but instead now write songs instead. One unity, however, is that reviewing books of poetry was one of the toughest gigs I ever had (unless it was really bad), and reviewing albums by the likes of Clarke is no easier. The fact that his is a mature and prolific talent makes things even harder because there's little to criticize and after a certain number of albums one runs out of fresh insights, a problem I encountered with William James IV and, during the Tape of the Month club juggernaut period, Butch Hancock. Clarke's nuanced lyrics resonate with subtle ambiguities, stating on one level but suggesting much more on others, which, I freely admit, may not be what everyone is looking for in a songwriter, but if you're interested in truly distinctive voices, Clarke is well worth seeking out. Recorded in Austin with Champ Hood, Merel Bregante, Lisa Mednick, David Heath, and Kenny Grimes, this is, metaphorically, his latest "slim volume of verse", but it makes you understand why he writes songs rather than poetry.

John Conquest
3^rd Coast Music, Austin, Texas 2000

‘The Sound Of The Moon’ Appaloosa Records
Terry Clarke

According to Terry’s liner notes, the songs on his second
album to be recorded at Merel Bregante’s Cribworks Studio
in North Austin, are a mix of ‘torch songs, blue jazz and
country laments’ all of which take their inspiration from
sightings of the moon . The only change in the line-up of
support players, relative to the team that produced
‘Lucky’ is that Kenny Grimes (guitar) replaces Jesse
‘Guitar’ Taylor. The remaining players of the quintet are
Merel Bregante aka Mr ‘never misses a beat’ Moonlight
(drums/percussion), Champ Hood (guitar/fiddle), Lisa
Mednick (piano/accordion) and David Heath (bass).
Although he had never worked with him, Terry was much
affected by the passing of Walter Hyatt in May of 96. Of
course, there’s an indelible connection with Hyatt on this
recording - Hood having been a member of Uncle Walt’s
Band. Champ also contributed to Hyatt’s subsequent solo
work. ‘The Messenger’ is Clarke’s rhythmically dreamy and
heartfelt tribute to Walter. The moon has possessed a
dream like fascination for mankind since the dawn of time,
and there are numerous hints that a lunar magic spell has
been cast upon the contents of this album – even on the
more upbeat tunes. The word languid keeps coming to
mind. This is another literate winner from one of our best
homegrown song poets.

The Kerrville Kronikle 2001

The Sound of the Moon’ Appaloosa Records

Love ‘The Sound Of The Moon’ country music meets Tim Buckley!

Spencer Leigh BBC Radio Merseyside