Soul Blues is not limited to Memphis and big voiced Texas W.C. Clark is one of the finest practitioners of the form. This is his second recording for Alligator and places him in the forefront of contemporary Soul. Clark is also an accomplished lead guitarist.

Producer Mark Kazanoff has assembled a studio band that is stellar. His Texas Horns provide punch. Marcia Ball duets with Clark on the Soul standard “You Left The Water Running” and “Soul Kind of Loving”. Ruther Foster lends her voice to “I Want To Do Everything For You.” John Hiatt’s “Tip of My Tongue” gets the Soul ballad treatment to great effect.

Clark can write, “Promises” being a sturdy slow Burn. “Cold Hearted Lover” is a collaboration with Kazanoff and one fine horn driven shuffle.

W.C. Clark commands the Soul Blues. Big voice, big sound and plenty of big fun.
 - Smokin’ Joe Miklos, Billtown Blue Notes/Pennsylvania (November/December 2004)

During an appearance at Albuquerque’s KiMo Theater, Wynton Marsalis attempted to explain how blues, a music that often deals with faithless lovers, desperate poverty, and other upbeat topics, can make you feel so good. Of course, there’s the rhythmic excitement, the satisfying inevitability of the 12-bar structure, and the comfort of knowing that you are not the only fool. But at Marsalis explained it, blues music works in much the same as a vaccination, inoculating you against indigo moods.

On Deep In The Heart, Austin blues artists, W. C. Clark is packing a lifetime of vaccine in his vocal chords and electric guitar.

Clark, who performs in Los Alamos on Monday, marries a stinging Texas blues guitar with a soulful voice that recalls the great Atlantic and Stax artists of the ‘60s. On guitar, Clark works single-note leads with chorded punctuations, and his fills, often as expressive as his solos, offer melodious commentary.

It’s the voice, though, that will send shivers down your spine, and the better the tune, the better the vocals.
 - Mel Minter, Crosswinds Weekly/Albuquerque, NM  (October 2004)

The Godfather of Austin Blues has been on a roll since 1994 when he signed with Black Top Records where he recorded three fine albums of blues and soul. In 2002 he released his Alligator debut “From Austin With Soul”, which included the 2003 WC Handy award for best song, “Let It Rain”. Once again Clark proves he is a consummate master of the sturdy soul-blues hybrid on this 14 song set of four originals and ten covers.

At the age when most Americans consider retirement, W.C. Clark has recorded his finest album. It is certain to make its way onto many top ten lists and contend with Charles Wilson’s “If Heartaches Were Nickels” for soul-blues album of the year. Highly recommended.
 - Thomas J. Cullen III, Blues Rag Magazine (September 2004)

Moving through a catalog that ranges from gutsy soul ballads and blistering shuffles to soothing blues is no mean feat, yet 64 year old singer-guitarist W. C. Clark does it with passion and conviction. You might say that this Austin, Texas, native is a musical united. He delivers a mix that brings together rockers, frat boys and R&B-revue lovers in a sweltering dance floor frenzy.
 - Don Palmer, Time Out/ New York, NY (September 2004)

Blues fans in Austin, Texas can forever weigh their town’s many great living guitar players, but they readily agree on its best blues singer: WC Clark, the Stevie Ray Vaughan mentor, who shows off his soulful talents better than ever on his new Alligator Records CD, “Deep In The Heart”.
 - Star Tribune/Minneapolis, MN  (September 2004)

This is what Teas soul-blues is all about. Once again, Austin icon W. C. Clark-the man who mentored the Vaughan brothers and Angela Strehli – shows off a vocal style that stretched halfway to Memphis, son of a scratchier southern Al Green coupled with his signature guitar playing that ranges from stinging single-note accents to funk-inspired leads.

But at the end of the day, any song Clark sings and plays is his own.
 - Norman Provencher, Ottawa Citizen/Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (August 2004)

“Deep In The Heart” has Clark doing his usual thing. If that sounds like damning with feint praise, it isn’t. Few artists can belt out a song with such heartfelt intensity. It is easy to see Clark being popular with both the blues crowd and fans of, say, an Otis Redding. “Deep In The Heart” show that Clark is like a fine wine. He keeps getting better with age.
 - Courier-Journal/Louisville, KY  (August 2004)

With several excellent albums for Black Top and now Alligator, Austin’s WC Clark has built up an impressive catalog of soulful modern urban blues. Clark brings a strong fluent guitar style that shows influences from T-Bone Walker and Steve Cropper to go with his soulful singing.

With the consistently strong performances and the varied music here, Clark has produced a disc that will make some best of 2004 blues lists. WC Clark is a tremendous live performer and his performance at last summer’s Pocono Blues Festival was one of that event’s highlights as he sang and played his heart out despite a heavy rain.
 - DC Blues Society/Washington, DC  (August 2004)

Small wonder, guitarist/vocalist Clark has been the inspirational figure to the Austin scene he’s purported to be. Endowed with a voice resembling a youthful, less ravaged, OV Wright, and a solid blues instrumental style, he is the quintessential soul/blues journeyman.

Deep In The Heart is a straight-ahead mix of soul classics and competent originals that should be welcomed by fans of the genre. Highlights include strong covers of Joe Tex’s “I Want To Do Everything For You” and John Hiatt’s “Tip Of My Tongue”. Production is first-rate Austin-style.
 - Duane Verh, Jazz and Blues Report (July/August 2004)

Veteran Texas bluesman Clark gives blues fans their money’s worth with this 14-song offering. The album features top-of-the-line musicians, including Marcia Ball, Pat Boyack, Riley Osbourn and the Texas Horns (Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff, John Mills, Gary Slechta, Randy Zimmerman). Clark’s signature sound- a rough-and ready blend of blues and soul-is as finely honed there as it has ever been. With so many tracks perfectly exemplifying Clark’s special groove, one might (incorrectly) conclude that this is a best-of-set. His duet with Ball (“You Left The Water Running”), the uptempo “Twist of the Knife” and the slow burner “Tip Of My Tongue” are among the best cuts. Anyone who needs to check on the state of Clark’s lead guitar chops should cue up “Okie Dokie Stomp” and feel the wonder.
 - PVV, Billboard/New York, NY  (July 2004)

Living blues legends are a dwindling lot. And with the recent death of soul originator, Ray Charles, artists who incorporate both styles, are an even rarer breed. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find another artist who approaches both blues and soul (and R&B for that matter) as uniquely as W. C. Clark.

On his most recent release, titled “Deep In The Heart” (Alligator), the Austin-based blues guitarist, know to many as “The Godfather of Austin Blues”, displays a blues guitar prowess that could only be rivaled by blues “Kings” (Albert and B.B.).

But the real clincher here is songs like “Tip Of My Tongue” and “I Want to Do Everything For You,” which push Clark’s rich and soulful vocals up front. Reminiscent of soul legends like the aforementioned Charles, Otis Redding and, most closely, Wilson Pickett, it’s Clark’s voice (and his female backups) that earmarks this record.

But there’s even more to “Deep” than that. Clark includes both rollicking upbeat blues (“Cold Blooded Lover”) and slow, heart-wrenching numbers (“My Texas Home”), each stylistically perfect but heavily stamped with Clark’s inimitable voice.

For blues purists, who feel that the genre is all but lost to the younger, slicker generation, fear not, W.C. Clark is the real deal. What’s more, he’s ably carrying the soul torch in a time when there are few who can.
 - Kevin Hopper, Albuquerque Journal/Albuquerque, NM (June 2004)

So how does a guitarist and singer who has made the blues his trade for nearly half a century view the music? Listen to WC Clark’s cheery wail and you would swear he grew up around vintage R&B and soul. Check out the clean stutter of his guitar work and you’ll find references that spread far beyond Lone Star country. What, then, do the blues mean to this master?

“It’s a spirit,” Clark said. “A spirit of agony. Of pain. But it becomes a reality within a reality to me. People that are trying to conquer the blues that’s within them should know it’s a lot easier to let a blues song speak for you. There’s a lot of wisdom in a blues song. Just let those songs tell about it. That way you won’t have to sing the blues out loud by yourself”.
 - Walter Tunis, Kansas City Star/Kansas City, MO  (June 2004)

Here’s what Blues Revue magazine has to say: “Modern Texas blues at its best…soothing, sweet-as-molasses soul and flashy, jumped-up roadhouse blues. As a vocalist, WC Clark is untouchable."
 - Go Triad/Greensboro, NC  (May 2004)

The Houston Chronicle was right to call W.C. Clark “a powerful and poignant soul man with heard-earned blues wisdom. “A few of the songs on his new CD hark back to B.B. King’s polished blues style (“Cold Blooded Lover”, “Twist Of The Knife”, “My Texas Home”) swampy blues (“Ain’t Lost Nothing”), even Western Swing (“Okie Dokie Stomp”). But by and large this is a sweet soul music of which famous greats like Sam Cooke and Etta James would be proud.

I don’t mention Sam Cooke lightly; Clark achieves something like Cooke’s poignancy in his slower numbers, like the John Hiatt penned “Tip Of The Tongue”. “I Didn’t Know The Meaning Of Pain” and Clark’s original “Jaded Lady”, on the other hand, unabashedly evoke the hits Isaac Hayes wrote for Sam and Dave. And in the slow blues “Texas Home” Clark gives a clinic in passionate vocalizing.

The whole CD is a great listen, chock full of Austin (via Memphis) soul.

Oh, and his guitar leads are nothing to sneeze at either.
 - Jon Sobel, Biogcritics.org

Like his last album, “From Austin With Soul”, this title references both W.C. Clark’s Texas home base and his R&B leanings. Once again, produced by horn player, Mark Kazanoff, who also contributes harmonica, sax, and punchy brass arrangements, this is a classic soul lover’s delight. Clark’s grease-and-gravy voice is exhilarating, dripping with emotion, and changing his inflection to boasting, hurtful, tough or tender depending on the song.

It’s a terrific, contemporary soul release that meshes blues and R&B into an explosive combination, and show the veteran Clark at the peak of his powers.
 - AMG All Music

"In the guitar-slinging saturated blues market, it is a pleasure to encounter vocalist/guitarist Wesley Curley Clark. This expressive artist is all about the music. Austin’s finest musicians accompany W.C. for 55 joyful minutes. All songs perfectly complement his happy and glad to be alive attitude. Wisdom-filled lyrics instruct you to live a more fulfilling life. I didn’t know they still made authentic soul-blues albums. Austin’s optimistic W.C. is definitely an endangered species and the last of a rare breed."
- Steve Holek, Blues Bytes

W.C. Clark - Deep In The Heart (Alligator)
"Another great outing from W.C.   What a voice!"
- Alan Shutro, Blues Bytes

"Clark just keeps getting better and better; great soul from Texas via Memphis."
- Graham Clarke, Blues Bytes

"W.C. Clark is a Texas legend…a commanding six-string master, a deep R&B songsmith and a tough, soulful vocalist."
- Chicago Tribune