''Blak and Blu'' is the major-label debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American musician Gary Clark Jr., released on October 22, 2012. The album touches on a wide variety of traditionally black music genres, including soul ("Please Come Home"), hip-hop/ R&B ("The Life"), Chuck Berry-esque rock and roll ("Travis County"), and Clark's trademark,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

("When My Train Pulls In", "Numb", "Next Door Neighbor Blues"). ''Blak and Blu'' netted Clark his first two Grammy Award nominations, one for Best Rock Song ("Ain't Messin Round") and the other for Best Traditional R&B Performance ("Please Come Home") which won. This marked the first time that an artist was nominated in both categories in the same year. It peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart, and number one on the Blues Albums chart.

Critical reception

''Blak and Blu'' was awarded a three-and-a-half star rating by '' Rolling Stone'' and was listed at 27 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the top 50 albums of 2012, in which the author said "Clark's brain-frying guitar solos are more about noise nuance and phrasing than speed-trial note-spitting." The Chicago Tribune gave the album a 2.5 out of 4 review, stating that the album lacked cohesiveness and consistency due to the wide variety of genres featured. In 2013, ''Blak and Blu'' was nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in the 'Contemporary Blues Album' category.

Track listing

All songs written by Gary Clark Jr., except as noted.

Blak and Blu The Mixtape

On April 30, 2014, Gary Clark Jr. also released a mixtape of the songs under the title ''Blak and Blu The Mixtape'' presented by D-Nice.

Track list

Personnel

* Gary Clark Jr. – lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, programming, trumpet, percussion,

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

* Eric Zapata – rhythm guitars * Mike Elizondo – bass, fuzz guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming * Zac Rae – Keyboards,

hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, wurlitzer, piano, vibraphone * J.J. Johnson – drums, percussion * Scott Nelson – bass * Satnam Ramgotra – tabla, percussion * Danny T. Levin – trumpet, trombone,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

* David Moyer – tenor saxophone,

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

* Stevie Black – strings * Recording engineers: Adam Hawkins, Doug McKean * Mixing: Adam Hawkins, Doug McKean * Assistant engineers: Brent Arrowood, Chris Sporleder, Russ Waugh * Mastering: Ted Jensen * A&R:

Lenny Waronker Lenny Waronker (born October 3, 1941) is an American record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Bros. Records, and later, as the co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment to artists and hi ...

* Creative design, direction and photography: Frank Maddocks

Charts

References

{{Gary Clark Jr. 2012 debut albums Gary Clark Jr. albums Albums produced by Mike Elizondo Warner Records albums