Clay Cook - Self Serving
This ain't no Marshall Tucker music.... but it is cool! Then again, I was already a fan of his solo work thanks to the downloads on his website, claycook.com. As most of you know he's a friend John Mayer, who had his first big hit with No Such Thing, which was co-written by Clay. They obviously share a common musical direction as evidenced by the tunes on Self Serving. That is to say it's a little mellower than his Tucker days, and mostly acoustic.
The CD's title comes from the fact that Clay performed EVERYTHING on this CD... and he produced it as well! As fans of MTB already know, the kid is a multi-instrumentalist, having watched him play flute, sax, guitar, keyboards and steel guitar in concert... but even the most ardent fans didn't know he could play anything under the sun! But are we surprised? I'm certainly not.
The CD leads off with Stand Back. The opening is reminiscent of Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) by the Trans Siberian Orchestra. The song fluctuates from highly charged to soft then back again. Lyrically it does the same, finally announcing "Stand Back, get out of my way." The next cut, Lead Me On, is a melancholy song about a guy who is experiencing the insecurity that new love brings. Does she love me? Does she love me not? Uh, Boy. I remember those days, and Clay brings back the feelings in surreal fashion.
Younger made me laugh... Clay is wise beyond his 23 years. We've all had the thoughts he sings about and he nails the sentiments of aging perfectly. His insight continues with North Star, which expresses the doubt we all feel as we're starting out on our own. You Will Find a Way is a jazzy little number whose lineage could be traced to Rikki Lee Jones or Seal.
Social Chameleon reminded me of some of the Beatles tongue-in-cheek ditties. This one is about the love interest of the writer who thinks she knows what she wants... though he knows otherwise. Clay goes electric, although it is still soft in tone, on Rubies. Again, intelligent lyrics are displayed and love is the theme.
The next three songs are probably the closest Clay comes to his Uncle's band's music, though closer to classic than southern. Filled Up tackles the angst brought on by a woman who entangles the heart and mind of a man. Sounds like high maintenance to me... but, oh, so much fun! Some nice, soft electric guitar picking here. Happy Home is beautiful music for sure and Man on the Side is a song I could hear Doug sing and it would feel right at home with the slow bluesy numbers of MTB.
She Will Be Mine is the most intense song on the CD and I have no doubt would bring a concert crowd to climax. The last song, Acid Rain, has a very Paul McCartney feel to it.
This is a promising debut from Clay. He's obviously a tour de force of musical ability. His writing is intelligent, insightful, witty and poignant. I would have loved for Clay to have the budget his friend John Mayer had for his debut and I hope that comes. The music would benefit from better sonic quality. I would have liked to hear him borrow an instrument from his Tucker days as well. A sax would have sounded great on Younger or Noprth Star - and the piano could have been more pronounced on the former. A flute might have been cool on You Will Find a Way. I'd like, too, for Clay to allow the music to go where it will, as Seven Moore does. No need to rush a good thing. But for an independent release this is high caliber musicianship and songwriting at it's best. The kid is a professional - now all he needs is a record deal!
Well done Clay. Many thanks - your music is totally cool!