SUNDAY TIMES (UK newspaper) By
CLIVE DAVIS
July 1, 2001
If
you have ever seen blues-folk troubadour Kelly Joe Phelps play live,
you will know how mesmerising his lap-based guitar playing can be.
Those mercurial fingers conjure the mystifying illusion of two or three
sidemen. A jazz player in days gone by - his passion for Coltrane knew
no bounds - he is no broken-down, back-porch strummer. After all the
solo tours, Sky Like A Broken Clock represents a surprise change of
direction, Phelps surrounding himself with like-minded musicians including
Tom Waits's cohort Larry Taylor. Don't worry: the poetic vision has
not been swamped by the combined force of feedback and backbeat. Recorded
in just a few days, the collection of originals prove as airy and evocative
as anything he has done before. Phelps's smoky growl is a remarkable
instrument in its own right, even if it does not always do full justice
to the intricate flow of the lyrics: these are no 12-bar chants. The
melodies, sinuous and teasing, take us on a dusty journey across the
heartlands.
If
you have ever seen blues-folk troubadour Kelly Joe Phelps play live,
you will know how mesmerising his lap-based guitar playing can be.
Those mercurial fingers conjure the mystifying illusion of two or three
sidemen. A jazz player in days gone by - his passion for Coltrane knew
no bounds - he is no broken-down, back-porch strummer. After all the
solo tours, Sky Like A Broken Clock represents a surprise change of
direction, Phelps surrounding himself with like-minded musicians including
Tom Waits's cohort Larry Taylor. Don't worry: the poetic vision has
not been swamped by the combined force of feedback and backbeat. Recorded
in just a few days, the collection of originals prove as airy and evocative
as anything he has done before. Phelps's smoky growl is a remarkable
instrument in its own right, even if it does not always do full justice
to the intricate flow of the lyrics: these are no 12-bar chants. The
melodies, sinuous and teasing, take us on a dusty journey across the
heartlands.