Clarence Gatemouth Brown

August 29 - September 5, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

**1/2 Clarence Gatemouth Brown

LONG WAY HOME

(Verve)
Texas maverick Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown is now 72 (almost as old as Bob Dole), but he shows no signs of slowing down. Long Way Home is a typically energetic and wide-ranging set with cameos from Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Leon Russell, and Sonny Landreth. After the Clapton chestnut "Blues Power," Brown reaches into the grab bag of American roots styles he's been drawing from over his lengthy career. He summons up his onetime mentor T-Bone Walker on the steamy blues "Somebody Else," pulls out his violin on the Cajun-flavored instrumental "Dockside," covers both Bob Dylan and Ray Price, and serves up jazzy swing ("Blues Walk") and gospel-tinged soul ("Here I Go Again") before winding things up with the acoustic blues of the title track, a duet with Clapton.
Although this is not Gate's best disc -- it drags in parts, and his singing is occasionally rough -- it's hard to think of anyone else who could pull off this range of styles without a trace of self-consciousness. Long Way Home is further proof that Brown is an American treasure, and a septuagenarian worthy of a presidential nomination.
-- Chris Erikson