You certainly can't call
Chris Spedding's 2005 release,
Click Clack, a true blues album. While the respected session guitarist's roots certainly lay in blues-rock, the production is too pristine and the performances too perfect to be classified as blues. But if your forte is mature, mainstream rock with a slight bluesy edge (à la
Eric Clapton's latter-day work), then
Click Clack will be right up your alley. Even at his most upbeat,
Spedding manages to keep everything extremely laid-back -- the tempos, the licks, even his
Mark Knopfler-like vocals. The album's title comes from an old
Captain Beefheart track, which
Spedding covers here (and which turns out to be one of the album's highlights), while two other instrumental covers prove to be highlights -- the jazzy "Ramblin'" (by
Ornette Coleman) and the album closer, "Last Date" (by
Floyd Cramer). But not all of
Click Clack consists of covers, as evidenced by such
Spedding originals as the album opener, "Hilife" (which sounds comparable to a song you'd hear while waiting on the phone for your computer's tech support), "Hear Your Daddy," and "How to Get Rid of the Blues." He'll probably forever be best known for playing with others, but
Spedding has his own voice, as evidenced by
Click Clack. ~ Greg Prato