Brandy Clark is one of the most in-demand singer-songwriter’s in Nashville. She’s penned hits for the cream of the Country music genre including Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker, David Nail, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith and Keith Urban to name a few. She built on the success of her debut album 12 Stories, released in 2013, with 2016’s Big Day in a Small Town. To coincide with her recent UK tour, Clark released Live From Los Angeles digitally.
The best way to experience Clark is live. Don’t get me wrong, she sounds great on record but seeing her live is a completely different experience. Live From Los Angeles captures her fantastic vocals and it also showcases her brilliant personality. Clark is very funny with a sarcastic sense of humour, something that we Brits appreciate. You know from her songs that she’s a great storyteller so it should come as no surprise that she’s a good at interacting with an audience too.
Live From Los Angeles opens with Drinkin’ Smokin’ Cheatin’, a song that she says gives a ‘little bit of an insight’ before joking that she’ll hit all of the ‘favourite sins’. Clark then launches into Stripes, her debut single and a fan favourite. The song showcases Clark’s knack for a biting lyric and it’s one of her finest songs to date.
Big Day in a Small Town, the title track from Clark’s current album, is an observational song about the dramas that go on in a small town. Clark is a keen people watcher and the detail she packs into her songs is really impressive. The emotional Hold My Hand is a song that gets me every time I hear Clark sing it live. Her voice sounds stunning on this live version.
Elsewhere on the record Clark puts her own twist on having a broken heart with Love Can Go to Hell, explores a women frustrated with her lot on Get High, and Since You’ve Gone to Heaven is a heartbreaking story about losing your father. Clark brings her set to a close with Pray to Jesus, which is yet another example of how smart a lyricist she is.
Live From Los Angeles is a great performance from Clark. She’s one of the best singer-songwriters, of any genre and she deserves way more credit as an artist than she often gets. Sometimes live albums aren’t worth getting as they sound exactly like the record but Clark always excels as a live performer so this release is definitely worth your time and money.
[brid video=”179018″ player=”531″ title=”Brandy Clark Stripes Hear and Now Country Now”]
Track list: 1. Drinkin’ Smokin’ Cheatin’ 2. Stripes 3. Big Day in a Small Town 4. Hold My Hand 5. Daughter 6. Love Can Go to Hell 7. Girl Next Door 8. Get High 9. When I Get to Drinkin’ 10. Since You’ve Gone to Heaven 11. Pray to Jesus Record label: Warner Music Release date: 18th August 2017
