Blak And Blu (studio album) by Gary Clark, Jr.

One of the best blues rock albums of the decade. Mr. Clark has some extraordinary talent, and it's nice to see the genre hasn't died and is in some seriously great hands.

From RoundTheBend 07/03/2016 21:29

Reminds me a bit of early Lenny Kravitz. But dude's got his own thing too. A bit of R&B, a shit ton of massive guitar tone, and a tinge of pop.

Sorry boys, did not like it at all. I can appreciate that pretty much all of the songs on this album are solid, and there are no stand out, drop dead horrible songs. But, this just did literally nothing for me, the guitar tone is fairly dead I think and the solos and licks sound like they are played by a robot. Same story with his voice, he's clearly a perfectly acceptable voice, but I just didn't give a shit what he was talking. Finally, this album is too long, 70 minutes? Really? Sees excessive mate.

Although the album is not consistently great, the great stuff is REALLY great. Can't wait for his live album

From Mdemauri 06/11/2014 17:24

As it's been pointed out, the good songs are really, really good. The bad songs are disappointing and misguided. This could've been a modern masterpiece. I can't wait to hear his next album, I hope it's more focused.

In today's pop music needs right in his (Gary Clark Jr.), such as people who have the playing skills, vocals, songwriting skills and overall charisma. When pop culture began to expand in the 1960s, guitarists Hendrix and Clapton were also popular, along with playing. Contemporary Pop must be more than - the dancing dolls.

Have to agree with Cymro2011. I think that there is 1/2 a great album here but too many different styles. The blues stuff is great but then you get a track like Blak & Blu & it completely throws me off.

From Cymro2011 03/08/2013 16:11

If he would just stick to Blues Rock this would have been an awesome. This album reminds me of Sandinista, way too many different styles. There are some really good songs but some really bad ones too.

While he may not be the next Hendrix, this major label debut shows promise, if not a little misguided. On one hand, you get blues powerhouses like the epic 'When My Train Pulls In' and the crunching, fuzzy guitar of 'Numb'. Yet, on the very same album you get a terrible mainstream rap song in the form of 'The Life' and a solid but out of place R & B track which is the title track. While I appreciate the way he is branching out to other genres, it just doesn't work well at all on here. When the next release from Gary Clark Jr comes around, I hope he can create a more coherent record that matches the stunning highlights of this.

Oh my goodness, this CD should've come with a fire extinguisher.