Music Review: Danny Click – Life Is A Good Place
Author: David Bowling — Published: Nov 15, 2011 at 10:55 am
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When the youngest of nine children sees his mother play the slide guitar using a butcher knife, he is destined to become either a guitarist or something far more nefarious. Luckily for all involved, Danny Click is now one of the better, if underrated, guitarists on the music scene today.
He began playing the guitar at the age of six and by the time he reached high school, he was playing with his older sister’s band, covering songs by such artists as Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson. Beginning in the 1990s in Austin, Texas, and continuing on the west coast, he developed an interest in the blues and has since settled into a guitar-oriented brand of rock/blues fusion.
Life Is A Good Place is his fourth album. His music has attained a maturity after years on the road and in the studio, featuring lyrics that explore themes of life’s struggles and ultimate redemption. Still, no matter how creative are Click’s lyrics or music, it all comes back to his guitar virtuosity, which is some of the best in all of contemporary rock and blues.
Click has surrounded himself with a stellar group of musicians for the project, including keyboardist Mark Goldenberg (Jackson Browne), bassist Kevin Kevin McCormack (Jackson Browne), drummer Mario Calire (Wallflowers), and pedal and lap steel guitarist Greg Leisz (Emmylou Harris); he also uses some backing singers and strings in places to fill in the sound.
The album’s most poignant tracks are “Ten Years” and “Blue Skies,” which deal with the loss of family members. On the other hand, “Wait My Turn” is an infectious country/blues rocker.
Whether acoustic or electric, Click’s equally emotional and passionate guitar playing remains the centerpiece of the album. He is one of those guitarists who can play the instrument almost in the vein of a vocalist to carry the tune. Having played his brand of rock and blues for several decades now, Click draws upon his experience to form an accessible and ultimately enjoyable album.
