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Mother Indigo

Terry Clarke (Drums)
1 disc

1. Candyman's Last Night (Coming Home)
2. Ballysadare Bay
3. Back to the Well
4. Two Rivers
5. Frankie Murray Sings 'Kansas City'
6. Who's Your Lover Now?
7. Bruce Channel in This Town
8. Out at Jack Noone's
9. Walk With Me
10. Mother Indigo
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 250
Credits

Producer Terry Clarke
Engineer Chris Britton
Solo performer: Terry Clarke (vocals, 12-string acoustic & baritone guitars).
Recorded at Wired Studios, Rising Sun Arts Centre & Silver Street, Reading, England on November 16, 1994. Includes liner notes by Terry Clarke.
Personnel: Terry Clarke (vocals, acoustic guitar).
Recording information: Wired Studios, Rising Sun Arts (11/16/1994).
Photographer: Terry Clarke .
Arranger: Terry Clarke .
This is a solo album in the strictest sense of the word -- just Terry Clarke and his 12-string guitar, recorded quickly and inexpensively. The songs were mostly written while Clarke was on the road, and most have to do with the English seaside region where he spent part of his childhood -- the album's title, Mother Indigo, refers to the ocean. Extremely personal solo albums rarely translate into complete artistic success, and this one is no exception to that rule. While "Ballysadare Bay" and "Walk with Me" are both fairly tuneful, pretty much everything else falls flat -- lots of highly self-referential lyrics sung to the vaguest of melodies over an energetically strummed guitar. This approach works well on the spare and bitter "Who's Your Lover Now?," but few of the themes Clarke develops will be universal enough to engage the interest of most listeners. "Bruce Channel in this Town" is an excellent example: if you don't already know who Bruce Channel is, you won't find much in the song to pique your interest. "Walk with Me" succeeds because it consists of a straightforward and disciplined chord progression linked to lyrics that speak to the listener rather than to the singer -- it's an approach Clarke should have stuck with. ~ Rick Anderson