Album Notes

Here's what Performing Songwriter says ...



In a lot of ways, Stephen Clair is the kind of citified troubadour that the roots songwriting world needs these days - a writer who can celebrate his influences without trying to be them.


He shares James McMurtry's poetic gift for plain but literate lyrics, a certain tongue-in-cheekiness with Townes Van Zandt and the ability to spin a yarn like Greg Brown. But there's also a bit of the bohemian to him, a bit of the old NYC that Clair thankfully doesn't hide under the pretend cowpoke jargon that many of his contemporaries do. Instead, he allows the noise and the gray of New York to seep into the sun-drenched hominess of his songs.
He comes out of the gate strong on Under The Bed with the opener "Gone Ten Years," an ode to a grandfather that brings a stutter to the heart of even the crustiest music critic.

Throughout, Clair proves himself a strong and witty lyricist, and his startling vocal similarity to James McMurtry gives his phrasing a wryness that allows even the starkest of phrases a bit of perspective and light.


-Clay Steakley