Welcome to the Wasteland

Amazon.com
When he's not writing songs for Nashville stars--George Strait alone has cut about a dozen of 'em--Clay Blaker fronts one of the crack bands on the Texas dancehall circuit. With titles like "A Day Late and a Darlin' Short," you can see the direction his songwriting takes, while John Carroll's prickly guitar anchors the sound. The consistently fine material includes the rocking country of the title track, the almost Beatle-esque "This Heart's Not Mine," yearning ballads "It's Not Too Late" and "Brown Eyes of Mexico," the late-night weeper "This House Has No Doors," the bluesy, down-and-out "I Don't Really Know Me Anymore," and the rattling (thanks to Carroll) "I Never Knew I Could Feel This Way." Lisa Morales adds her luscious vocals to a revival of the Bobby Bare-Rosanne Cash hit "No Memories Hangin' Round." Blaker may not have the most distinctive voice around, but he gets maximum mileage out of it. Contemporary Texas honky-tonk doesn't get much better than this. --John Morthland

Welcome to the Wasteland,Clay Blaker,Neobilly Records,Country,Country & Western,Pop

Average customer rating: Terrific, melodic country from Texas stallwart great music by a true texas singer, songwriter

Welcome to the Wasteland Clay Blaker Manufacturer: Neobilly Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: Rumor Town ASIN: B000056WV4 Release Date: 2001-01-30

Tracks:

1. Welcome To The Wasteland
2. This Heart's Not Mine
3. It's Not Too Late
4. A Day And A Darlin' Short
5. Brown Eyes Of Mexico
6. Helpless Heart
7. This House Has No Doors
8. No Memories Hangin' Round
9. I Don't Really Know Me Anymore
10. I Never Knew I Could Feel This Way

Amazon.com

When he's not writing songs for Nashville stars--George Strait alone has cut about a dozen of 'em--Clay Blaker fronts one of the crack bands on the Texas dancehall circuit. With titles like "A Day Late and a Darlin' Short," you can see the direction his songwriting takes, while John Carroll's prickly guitar anchors the sound. The consistently fine material includes the rocking country of the title track, the almost Beatle-esque "This Heart's Not Mine," yearning ballads "It's Not Too Late" and "Brown Eyes of Mexico," the late-night weeper "This House Has No Doors," the bluesy, down-and-out "I Don't Really Know Me Anymore," and the rattling (thanks to Carroll) "I Never Knew I Could Feel This Way." Lisa Morales adds her luscious vocals to a revival of the Bobby Bare-Rosanne Cash hit "No Memories Hangin' Round." Blaker may not have the most distinctive voice around, but he gets maximum mileage out of it. Contemporary Texas honky-tonk doesn't get much better than this. --John Morthland

Customer Reviews:

Terrific, melodic country from Texas stallwart.......2001-02-18

I guess that at 50 years of age, it's not too surprising that Nashville isn't knocking down Blaker's door for Country Weekly photo sessions and videos to hawk on cable TV. Which says a lot more about Nashville's concern with surface marketing elements than it does about the deep quality of Blaker's fifth LP (and third for his indie Neobilly label).

Nashville certainly knows his songwriting, with credits from George Strait, Lee Ann Rimes, Johnny Bush. Outside of Nashville, Blaker's songs have been recorded by Austin's Derailers, Doug Sahm and Jim Lauderdale. And outside the country beltway, his songs have been adopted by talents as far-out as Barbra Streisand (whose new husband is apparently a George Strait fan).

Blaker's songwriting is rife with the flavors of his Texas hill country home. There's plenty of twangy telecaster, steel guitar and songs of love lost. But there are also superbly integrated hints of 60s pop - harmonies of the British Invasion, melodic lines haunted by the likes of Marshall Crenshaw. Unlike the overproduced works of Nashville's hit factories, however, Blaker effortlessly seasons his music with these flavors, allowing them to augment rather than overwhelm.

On the one hand, it's a shame that someone of Blaker's talent isn't selling millions of units; on the other, few talents make it through the major-label circus unscathed. So given his ability to write, produce and distribute his records independently, those of us who've found him are that much better off.

great music by a true texas singer, songwriter.......2001-02-16

Buy this cd it is one of the best country music release's in a long time, I hope people will try find this album it is a little hard to find, amazon has a 4-6 week wait and so do most of the other site's. this album is whorth the work to find though and it has some great song's my favorite's are the title track this house has no door's, a day late and a darlin short. truly one of country music's best. also found his song's on clay walker's if i could make a living, george strait's pure country soundtrack, mark chessnutt's wing's and barbara streisand's a love like our's.

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