Kelly Joe Phelps - Sky Like a Broken Clock (CD)

All Music Guide

Recorded in a live studio setting with no overdubs, Sky Like a Broken Clock has a pure sound and the seamless flow that can only be acheived by a group of accomplished, and complementary, musicians. Producer George Howard, who also worked on Jess Klein's Draw Them Near and Mojave by the Willard Grant Conspiracy, has a knack for creating a warm, clean-sounding folk music, captured with an almost eerily crystalline feel. Known for his imaginative take on the country blues of artists like Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Mississippi Fred McDowell, Phelps put together an album entirely of originals for this venture. The result is a set of low-key, abstract story-songs about voodoo, sin, and prostitution, with "Worn Out," the album's closer, having a lullaby-like quality. Phelps' guitar work on this album is fairly straightforward (unfortunately not featuring his signature acoustic slide), and is backed by Larry Taylor on string bass and Billy Conway on drums. - Travis Drageset, All M...usic Guide Read more Less