MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: GARY CLARK JR. - THE STORY OF SONNY BOY SLIM

There is no Sonny Boy Slim, and it's not a nickname for Clark either.  The young guitar hero is paying homage to all that have come before in the blues world and beyond, and placing himself in that great African-American narrative of the last century of musical and cultural achievement.  It's all connected, from the delta to the urban landscape, and Clark has broad interests in it all.  While the Texan gets labelled blues, he's electrified and electrifying in rock, hip-hop, soul, funk and what have you, never retro in any of them.

The licks are fewer than on his debut and subsequent live albums, the story-telling now more the focus.  It's a look at a society that needs healing, with acknowledgements of pain, politics and racism causing endless stress.  But overall the message is positive, Clark promising hope will get you through.  It's a big statement, but the individual songs are broken up into well-focused slices of life. Then he slices and dices all the musical influences running through his fingers, making it quite an accomplished set.  Despite being touted as part of the future of the blues, he can't and won't be stuck in any genre, and this album shows he'll be someone to follow for a long time, and for more than his guitar.