Guy Clark

This collection is part of the Americana Master Series and there’s no doubt that veteran troubadour Clark deserves that billing. Best Of The Sugar Hill Years is compiled from three albums Clark released between 1997 and 2002: Keepers, Cold Dog Soup and The Dark. None of the tunes had the same impact as earlier classics like "L.A. Freeway” but the quality is consistently high. At this stage of his career, Clark was using a lot of co-writers but he chose well, with the likes of Terry Allen, Buddy Mondlock and Shawn Camp featured here. The only cover is Steve Earle’s "Fort Worth Blues,” an homage to Clark’s good friend Townes Van Zandt, who also makes an appearance on "Cold Dog Soup.” Guy’s warm, rich voice is in fine form and the female harmony vocalists (including Gillian Welch on the lovely "Arizona Star”) add a nice resonance. This is sweet, simple and timeless stuff.