The Best of 2024: Joy Clark--Tell It To The Wind (Review)
The Margaret Becker-produced debut album from this singer/songwriter/musician is a refreshing reminder that thoughtful songs with great melodies are yet alive!
One thing people have noted about God’s Music is My Life is that I make little reference to current music.
There’s a reason for that.
I hate most of it.
2024 has seen the release of two stunning albums that I love: T Bone Burnett’s The Other Side and Russ Taff’s Cover Story…and now Joy Clark’s Tell It To The Wind on Righteous Babe Records.
I first became aware of Joy in the early years of the pandemic and heard something familiar (but not derivative) in her music: it was thoughtful, melodic, introspective and straight from the heart. When she responded to a piece I wrote for
about Margaret Becker’s “Find Me,” it all clicked.This New Orleans-grown artist emerged on the national stage as a member of Allison Russell’s band while she woodshedded, crafting her own songs and distinct style as a solo artist, a singer/songwriter/musician with a sound and vision of her own.
As a church kid, Clark absorbed the sounds of artists like Margaret Becker and Jennifer Knapp, but as she was equally influenced by folk music, citing Tracy Chapman as her “biggest influence as a kid.” When she began reconciling her sexuality with her faith, she was removed from her role as band leader in the church and she made her way into the world to find her own path as a human and musician.
Tell It to the Wind, produced by Margaret Becker, tracks that journey and proudly touts the broad spectrum of American music. Whether it’s the breezy soul-pop of “One Step in the Right Direction” (which features incredible background vocals by Kyla Jade and Maureen Murphy), the bluesy saunter of “Lesson,” the Earth, Wind & Fire-influenced “Shimmering” or the moody balladry of “Watching You Sleep,” Clark refuses to be put in a box, relegated to one thing or another.
Becker’s production manages to do several things at once. Central to the entire project is Clark’s magnificent songwriting and the songs never get lost. The production compliments Clark’s lyricism, the stellar cast of musicians—which includes Lisa Coleman (of Wendy & Lisa), J. Sharp, Steve Brewster, Alisa Hall and Bradley Bourgeois, among others, only enhance the story and never distract the listener from it. There are pianos, Hammond B3s, acoustic and electric guitars, strings and horns, presenting an array of sounds and moods in an era that seems determine to foist one-note music on audiences that don’t know or care to demand more.
Tell It to the Wind marries the strength and individuality of the Women’s Music movement of the 70s and 80s with the introspection and spirituality of the unsung women of contemporary Christian music from the 80s and 90s. Clark has as much in common with Cris Williamson, Meg Christian and Deidre McCalla as she does with Becker, Kim Hill and Patsy Moore, as she brings the radical possibility of both genres together in her own distinctive brew.
Clocking in at just under 32 minutes, Tell It to the Wind makes the listener anticipate Clark’s next offering with bated breath. Without question, she’s an artist to watch.
Tell It to the Wind is available on CD and for download/streaming in all digital music stores. Links here.
Beautiful! Thank you for introducing us to Joy Clark. Listening to Tell it to the Wind. Goose bumps!