Alice Clark: "Alice Clark"

I paid $15 for this, at a tiny store near Tacoma, WA.  The circumstances by which I obtained it were a bit bizarre…there was only a tiny selection of records on display that were actually priced, while on shelves below, there sat hundreds, maybe thousands, of much more interesting, valuable, and un-priced records.  I would have liked to have taken several of these with me, but being on a limited budget, and not knowing what any of them would cost me, I settled on this single platter.  I took it to the girl behind the counter, and she says, “oh, the records underneath aren’t for sale yet.”  Are you kidding me?!?  I insisted I had to leave the store with the LP I had selected, and eventually she quoted me a price, though not without some more unnecessary side-stepping.  $15 may not seem like a bargain, but those in the know will recognize that, for this particular record, it’s an absolute steal.  Oh yeah, and did I mention that it was a white-label DJ copy, in mint condition?

The music recorded here is sublime, akin to an early fall day where, while you may be lamenting the loss of the summer, you are nevertheless anxious for the cold winds and dark nights to take hold.  Alice Clark’s voice is perfection, very much in the ‘70’s soul diva tradition, but with none of the histrionics so often associated with that genre.  She has remarkable range and control, never seeming to over-exert to achieve the vocal impact desired.  When paired with Bob Shad’s crystal-clear, warm production and Ernie Wilkins’ complex, subtle arrangements, the end result is transcendent, heavenly, ethereal, miraculous.  Individual track analysis is fairly irrelevant here; this is the kind of album that has to be listened to as a whole to be fully appreciated.  I must say, I am so happy to have found this, even if it did require a small amount of diplomatic haggling on my part.  This is an LP for all moods and surroundings; it feels equally comfortable in the drunkenness of the wee hours as it does with coffee on the following hung-over morning.