CLYDE WRENN
The Blue Cliff Record (Self-release)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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That Clyde Wrenn's music is still untouched by Los Angeles is proof that wishes do come true. I wished that very wish when I heard Wrenn's first album, Long Day's Journey Into Night, about a year and a half back. The city that steals souls hasn't ripped the Appalachian roots out and tossed them aside, and the sounds of his old home still haunt every track. The fact that Wrenn and his band still play this wonderful music in that mecca of the music business and have managed to go unnoticed and unsigned is disgusting but unsurprising. After all, you can't keep being surprised by the these injustices or you'll get very odd "laugh" lines on your face. Shock lines. Disgust lines. I prefer to just float lazily off on the next cloud of sound, courtesy of Clyde Wrenn.

Ah, here's one now. "The Someday Song." At pair of acoustic guitars on each end of the stereoscape jangle their raindrops over a gently propulsive drum beat given speed by a plaintive, distorted slide guitar. The shower is raining down but there's a bright ray of sunlight guiding your path. Imagery is tricky. You can hear something else? Great, write to me so I can go on your trip next time. The thing about Clyde Wrenn's music is that there are beautiful sounds, powerful sounds, dramatic sounds, simple sounds, peaceful, mournful, even frightening sounds, woven into a fabric of delicate, melodic pop sure to move you. And while anyone can come up with sounds, very few can blend it all into anything good. This is better than good.

My new wish for Clyde Wrenn is that some hip, with-it director will hear this album and put a song on the soundtrack of a blockbuster flick so Wrenn can have the kind of cash he needs to be comfortable and stay with the self-release plan. It's be a shame to have someone telling him not to do any of this stuff. [ www.clydewrenn.com]

© 2001 - DJ Johnson