Rockfold Records artist: Mick Clarke Band - Ruff 'n' Roar - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Ruff 'n' Roar from the Mick Clarke Band (Live at Scratchers) and it's hot! From the opening riff on the opening track, Elmore James' Happy Home, this release rips. Mick Clarke (guitar and vocal), joined by Chris Sharley (drums) and Eddie Masters (bass) really know how to crank it up. This band has the energy of early Savoy Brown or ZZ Top. What that means is endless boogie with flaming hot slide riffs! On Good Morning Blues, Clarke has his amp tuned in just right for that fat saturation and his riffs are thick. Masters keeps the blues vamp going an Sharley sets a tight bottom for a great romp. On Memphis Slim's Rockin' the Blues, MCB gets that Hooker electric boogie really cranking. This track was "made for" Stilladog. Showing his relentless slide attack, Clarke tears it up! Slowing it down just a little on 9 minute plus, Love Me Or Leave Me, gives the band a breather and solos, including a nice one from Masters and a tense one from Clarke are straightforward and solid. Very nice! Walking Blues, a classic by Mr Son House, gets an update and a solid bottom driver. Clarke blazes a red hot path with his slide guitar. Excellent! Bo Diddley style track, Little Rachel, has the advantage of not only an infectious beat but raw slide work. This is what bands want to sound like live! Cheap has that gritty early ZZ Top beat and that earthy, fat Billy Gibbons tone on guitar. I gotta tell you, there's hardly a serious guitar player on the planet that won't tell you that he admires Billy Gibbons tone and Clarke has it here. Excellent! Who doesn't love Hound Dog Taylor? Everybody loves Hound Dog Taylor. Give Me Back My Wig is a classic and Clark hits it here. He's not copping HDT's tone but he is tearing up the slide so if you are a slide blues freak like me...eat it up! Wrapping the release is Willie Dixon's You Need Love starting with a classic Hooker (Boom Boom ) riff and with Masters and Sharley driving like it's Radar Love. Clarke throws down every blue rock riff you've ever heard (and a few you haven't) in this intense 7 plus minute closer. This is one hell of a show and if this three piece band hits this town...I'm there!

 

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Full Moon Boogie - The Mick Clarke Band

In 2014 British Blues Guitarist Mick Clarke continues to tour with The Mick Clarke Band, promoting his new album "Ramdango". Mick began his solo career in the early 80s and has become an established name on the European scene, touring regularly in every country from Finland down to Italy. Praised for his fiery "straight from the wood" guitar sound, he has appeared on numerous festivals with artists such as Robert Cray, Johnny Winter and the late Rory Gallagher. Recent tours have included appearances at the Baden Blues Festival in Switzerland, "Blues Express" Luxembourg, "Rock at Sea" in Stockholm, Sweden, "Seven Nights to Blues" in France and the Bragdoya Blues Festival in Norway. In 2005 Mick headlined the Saturday night at the Great British R&B Festival in Colne, England as part of the British Blues All Stars.. also featuring Kim Simmonds and Maggie Bell. Mick has also toured several times in the U.S.A. and appeared with artists such as Johnny Winter, Canned Heat, Foghat, Big Jay McNeely and C.J.Chenier. The Southern California Blues Society called him "One of the finest blues players to come out of England". Mick began his career with KILLING FLOOR part of the British blues boom of the late 60s. The band backed Texas blues guitar star Freddie King and toured with legends such as Howlin' Wolf and Otis Spann. . In 2012 the original four piece band got together again to record a brand new CD, "Rock'n'Roll Gone Mad" - its fourth album release in forty four years. The band returned to live work with a performance at Sweden Rock Festival 2012. In the mid 70s Mick co-formed SALT a powerful blues-rock act who were a big hit on the London scene in the 70s playing regularly at the Marquee and other top venues. The band played at the Reading Festival and also opened for Muddy Waters at two major London concerts. SALT has also reformed for occasional re-union tours. Micks first solo album Looking For Trouble came out on the Italian label Appaloosa in the early 80s and sold well. More albums quickly followed including West Coast Connection recorded in Portland, Oregon with local musicians. Recent releases have been on the German label Taxim, including the classic "No Compromise",and "Happy Home" on Mick's U.S. label Burnside features just Mick with Lou Martin on piano and some old favourite songs. "Live in Luxembourg" is Mick's first ever live album, recorded in 2002 at the "Big Blues" in Luxembourg, and the 2007 "Solid Ground" contains thirteen brand new original blues rock compositions. Mick's previous album "The Rambunctious Blues Experiment" was recorded at Mick's home studio in Surrey and features Mick with Russell Chaney on Drums and Dangerous Dave Newman on harp. The brand new "Ramdango" was recorded by Mick alone on a variety of instruments.. real drums! THE MICK CLARKE BAND originally started working around the London area in the early 80s, but quickly received offers of work from mainland Europe and the United States. Early festival appearances such as the Belgium R&B Festival in Peer confirmed their appeal for continental audiences, while the US tours established a world wide reputation for the band. Mick leads a band of top musicians, tearing up audiences where-ever they go..players have included Chris Sharley, Eddie Masters, Lou Martin, Mick Hawksworth, Dave Lennox and Ian Ellis. The current line-up is either three piece or augmented with Dangerous Dave Newman on harp. With a combination of original material and blues standards Mick's brand of rocking blues never fails to deliver the goods. As one U.S. reviewer put it - If you don't see THE MICK CLARKE BAND kick yourself!  

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I'm In The Mood - The Mick Clarke Band

This is a bit of a different take! I like it!!
Guitarist MICK CLARKE was a founder member of KILLING FLOOR and has since gone on to a successful solo career with the MICK CLARKE BAND.

Mick joined his first professional band at the age of just seventeen. The Cliff Charles Blues Band played just three momentous dates.. Warwick University with the Graham Bond Organisation, Middle Earth club in London also with Graham Bond, and the Nags Head blues club in Battersea with Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac!

A year later, in 1968, Mick met up with singer / harp player Bill Thorndycraft. Founding the band KILLING FLOOR with Stuart McDonald, Bazz Smith and Lou Martin they hit the road and had an eventful four year ride of recording and touring, backing Freddie King on two UK tours and playing concerts with Howlin' Wolf, Captain Beefheart, The Nice, Yes, Jethro Tull and many other important acts of the time. The band recorded two albums released worldwide, and toured across Europe.

After the band went into its extended rest period in 1972 Mick went on to work with numerous other bands. The first of these was Toefat, the blues rock band formed by the blues and soul singer Cliff Bennett. This was followed by a spell with the American band Daddy Longlegs, touring all over the UK and Northern Europe, playing a mix of blues and rock. When this band finished Mick went through a spell of confusion.. the blues was not happening in England at the time, and Mick played with a variety of strange bands formed by ex members of Roxy Music and others..

However, in the mid seventies Mick formed up with singer Stevie Smith, and along with Stuart McDonald created SALT - an excellent hard hitting blues rock band. SALT was very successful on the English club and college scene playing many times at the famous Marquee club in London and building a strong following. The band later opened for Muddy Waters and performed at the Reading Festival in 1977.

The Punk Rock explosion signalled the end of SALT and its successor Ramrod, and again Mick went into a directionless period..living for a year in Los Angeles before returning to London to continue with a second version of SALT, battling against the prevailing winds of new wave and two tone...

In the early eighties Mick finally started a solo career and has been touring and recording with the Mick Clarke Band ever since. Albums have included "Steel and Fire" produced by Mike Vernon, and "West Coast Connection" recorded in America with ex members of the Robert Cray Band and Roomfull of Blues. "No Compromise" received heavy airplay on UK radio..his current CD "Solid Ground" is his thirteenth album release. Mick tours regularly all over Europe performing at the top clubs and festivals, and has toured in America five times, including shows with Canned Heat and Johnny Winter. In 2010 The Mick Clarke Band continues to record and tour, with club and festival appearances scheduled across Europe. He recently appeared at the Great British R&B Festival in Colne as part of the "British Blues All Stars", and Killing Floor have now played new live shows featuring the original 1968 line-up
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