Soul Man: Live in Japan
Clay has been singing soul music intertwined with gritty blues since 1965, when he crossed over from the gospel world, and his passion hasn't abated over the years. Yet the Chicagoan's 1983 performance, with his voice forcing its emotion and his ersatz Otis Redding, 0. V. Wright, and Al Green moves, is of interest to admirers only. Clay's studio-recorded 1992 release I'll Treat You (Bullseye Blues CD) is better, though it can't touch his 1970s I Can't Take It LP on the Hi label, or his recent gospel sides.-- © Frank John Hadley 1993--From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD