Clay Harper - Dirt Yard Street
CLAY HARPER RELEASES ‘DIRT YARD STREET’
Singer-songwriter, businessman, real estate magnate, raconteur, and conceptual artist Clay Harper releases a new album, Dirt Yard Street, an eight-track collection of evocative music by an artist who’s lived an outsized life: drug addiction and recovery, the loss of his wife to cancer, grand successes, and enormous heartbreak.
Clay Harper
According to Clay, “One constant in my life is music. Most of my friends are somehow involved in music. I can’t function without it. Happy or sad…there’s a soundtrack.”
During the ‘80s, Clay formed The Coolies, borrowing the pejorative because of its meaning: “one who does heavy work for little pay.” The band signed with DB Records and released an album, Dig, which covered songs by Simon and Garfunkel, delivered in punk rock trappings. The Coolies followed with Doug, one of the best “Rock Operas of All Time.”
Later, Clay hooked up with Wreckless Eric of Stiff Records, in a band named Ottoman Empire, followed by dropping two children’s albums, including the talents of his brother, Mark, as well as the gifts of musicians like Moe Tucker, Ian Dury, Cindy Wilson, Susan Cowsill, Bobby Bird, The Reverend Horton Heat, and Colonel Bruce Hampton.
Over the years, he’s worked with artists such as Brendan O’Brien, Chaz Jankel of the Blockheads, Martin Stone, Stone Temple Pilots, The Subsonics, Serbia’s Milan Mumin, Murray Attaway, Rick Richards, Glenn Phillips, Kevn Kinney, Kevin Dunn, Duane Trucks, and Ceelo Green.
Strangely affecting, 'Dirt Yard Street' offers an austere sonic beauty highlighted by the Neil Young-like rasp of Clay Harper.
Clay has also shared the stage with The Kinks, They Might Be Giants, The Del Rubio Triplets, The Black Crowes, World Party, Fishbone, Africa Bambaataa, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and The Wailers.
The album opens with the title track, starting off with a Spartan-flavored guitar delivering alt-country tones as Clay’s inimitable voice exudes savors of exquisite melancholy. Highlights include “A Poem On A Pillow,” vaguely reminiscent of Pink Floyd, primarily because of the melody’s drifting dreamy flow and the eloquent saxophone underscoring Clay’s halting voice.
“A Car I Remember” rolls out on a sad saxophone atop a meandering bluesy melody, while Clay’s spoken word lyrics narrate a tale of the ebb and flow of life. “Maybe I’ll Be There” features slowly oozing textures of jazz, stripped-down to a piano, bass, soft drums, and Clay’s poignant timbres.
The final track, “Somewhere There’s A Fire Waiting” offers hints of bluegrass, alt-country, and Mississippi blues. A crying fiddle imbues the tune with keening colors conjuring up visions of the deep South during the Civil War, lonesome and forlorn.
Strangely affecting, Dirt Yard Street offers an austere sonic beauty highlighted by the Neil Young-like rasp of Clay Harper. This is one of those albums that defies accurate description. You have to listen to it to appreciate it.
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