4^th solo album from Wooltone Rob Clarke – an engaging soufflé of raw delta blues, Gallican pop and wry Scouse observation

Release Date:  29^th January 2024

Label: Wooltone

Formats: CD / Digital

It seems quite a while since our friend Rob Clarke tipped us the wink that he had a new album in the offing.  In fact, it was early December 2023, when he slid a copy of his maxi-single, Blues Beats And Brel, under our door for our delectation – by way of serving notice that the album, also entitled Blues Beats And Brel was in the pipeline.  As a taster, the maxi-single certainly whetted our appetite and now, happily, the album is with us too.

To recap, Rob thought that it was about time he took a short vacation away from the trademark light-hearted sounds that we’ve grown to love from The Wooltones, to explore something a little darker.  So, for Blues Beats and Brel, he’s drawn on influences such as Jacques Brel, Lee Hazlewood, Serge Gainsbourg, Scott Walker and Tom Waits and taken the opportunity to delve into delta blues, the French street sounds of the 1950s and to tread tentatively down the pathway signposted by the Mersey poets Henri, Patten and McGough.

Rob first came to our notice three years ago when we were bowled over by the quirky humour of his band, The Wooltones and their album, Putting The L In Wooltones.  As we got to know him better, we realized that Rob is one of those fortunate souls capable of turning his talents in a multiplicity of directions.  He’s equally at home with acoustic folky material, rock and psychedelia and, whenever he steps up to front his ‘other’ band, The Brown Bears, he shows us that he’s equally comfortable doling out generous helpings of authentic Nashville country tunes. 

And now, with Blues Beats And Brel, we’re seeing yet another facet of his dodecahedral talent. Rob explains: “After a series of band albums, it seemed like a good idea to try another solo thing but with some new influences.  So, here comes Blues Beats And Brel.  It’s a stripped-back solo recording on a diet of old blues records, beat poetry and Jacques Brel accordion sandwiches as I struggle to make sense of the world outside… which pretty much sums up what’s been going on for all of us.”

Blues Beats And Brel is, indeed, a stripped-back affair.  The focus is very much upon Rob’s left-field, often hilarious and frequently challenging lyrics and, in order to retain that focus, instrumentation is limited mainly to Rob’s acoustic guitar, with oases of richness added here and there from bass, electric guitar, sparse percussion and a few welcome and flavoursome dashes of Fran Ashcroft’s jazzy piano and Jo Powell’s Streets-of-Marseilles accordion.  And, as you’ll expect from the album’s title, blues, beats and Brel all get their share of the limelight.

Let’s deal with the blues songs first.  Opening track, She’s A Mean was one of the songs featured on the recent maxi-single and it’s probably the most authentic and least outré of the four blues songs on the album.  It’s a slice of genuine delta blues, complete with false start, tasty blues licks from Rob’s acoustic guitar, a rhythm punched out by Rob’s stomping left foot and a familiar tale of the angst inflicted by an unfaithful partner.  Fran’s bluesy piano is a delight and – after a couple of months’ listening – I know now for sure that this is a song that grows on you.

It’s still raw blues, peppered with howling harmonica and driven, once again, by that thudding left foot, but with Fridge, Rob takes a lyrical leap into the leftfield.  After a marvellous start, in which Rob’s opening chords are interrupted by his partner (or is it his mother?  We may never know…) informing him that his lunch is available, Rob reverts to his familiar irreverent self as he delivers lines like: “Going back to the fridge – to get a sandwich/ Going back to the fridge – if I can find where it is.”  And he throws in some infectious guitar licks whilst he’s at it!

And sticking with the blues, On My Way is intimate and engaging and the sound is surprisingly rich when Rob adds bass, electric guitar and harmonica to the mix.  Rob uses the song’s lyrics to express his intent to move on from his current situation and, as if to drive that message home, he throws in a crafty “Good riddance” as the song reaches its coda. 

The final bluesy offering on the album – closing track, My Old Banjo – is one of the album’s quirkiest.  Although the song’s lyrics make a point of expressing Rob’s rudimentary skills on the instrument, he does manage to coax some fluid blues licks from his banjo and, with the lyric, “Here in the kitchen, no pot to piss in, just me and my old banjo,” Rob wins the At The Barrier award for January’s Couplet of the Month.

Moving on to the Beats portion of the album, Cheapskate is another of the tracks included on that preview maxi-single.  When I first listened to the track, back in December, I suggested that it’s likely to be one of those songs that will yield something new every time it’s played, and that’s certainly proving to be the case.  I don’t necessarily understand where Rob is going, with stream-of-consciousness phrases like “L-shaped signed and party hats/ Empty office underpants” and “Shopfront windows, rain-swept streets/ Bow-tied playboys in disbelief” but they’re certainly evocative and I find them strangely fascinating.  And it’s the same story for Cusherun; Rob delivers his spoken-word vocal to a backing of resonant bass, decorated by swirls and flourishes of organ – I don’t understand what he’s talking about, but I’m certainly going to have fun trying to work it out…

In a way, I probably had most fun with the final one of the album’s three Beat tracks, the short, sweet, My Kind Of.  Punchy 60s pop provides the soundtrack to Rob’s expressions of contentment with the situation that surrounds him – the location, the people, the shops – and the piano.  It’s brief, it ends suddenly, and it’s directly to the point… whatever that point might be.  Who cares??

Jo Powell really comes into her own on the album’s pair of Jacques Brel-influenced tracks – her accordion parts really do transport the listener to the dingy back streets and alleyways of 1950s Paris or Marseilles, even as Rob’s lyrics remain firmly anchored in suburban Liverpool.  Tik Tok features a wonderfully atmospheric vocal from Rob as he delivers his wistful lyrics, whilst he plays some of his best guitar on You Don’t Talk, a song that completes the enticing merger of Parisian exotica with Scouse domesticity.

And, to complete the picture, there’s a couple of tracks on Blues Beats And Brel that don’t necessarily fit into any of the aforementioned categories, but sit comfortably on the album nevertheless.  Jo adds accordion to Rob’s guitar and self-harmonising vocals on Even The Good.  The song’s lyrics are wistful and soothing; Rob takes us on a walk around his childhood haunts and recalls the happy experiences he had there.  There’s a regret that those happy times are over, but it’s easy to sense the pleasure that the memory of them continues to evoke.  It’s an enjoyable song that, for some reason, reminds me of Stay, from Pink Floyd’s 1972 Obscured By Clouds album.

And, finally.  Perhaps the album’s strangest – and certainly it’s most unclassifiable – track is the interesting oddity What a Commotion.  Part blues, part guitar/harmonica Dylanish folk, part dreamy psychedelia, it’s a truly fascinating song.  Fran adds splashes of his lovely piano, whilst Rob’s lyrics include lines like: “I keep wondering why you always vote in a clown,” and “Slowly, slowly catchee monkey.”  It may be odd, but – somehow – it helps to complete the picture.  I’ve been waiting eagerly for Blues Beats and Brel.  It’s been worth the wait!

Watch the official video to On My Way – one of the album’s ‘Blues’ tracks – here:

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