Search - Buzz Clifford :: Golden Pipes 50 Years of Buzz Clifford

Buzz Clifford's prolific accomplishments as a songwriter belie the fact that he possesses one of pop music's most distinctive voices, something he proudly demonstrates throughout Golden Pipes, 50 Years Of Buzz Clifford his latest release. The twenty two song package is, in fact, stunning proof that Buzz is both a compelling writer and a distinctive vocalist/guitarist. Golden Pipes, 50 Years Of Buzz Clifford picks up the thread of Buzz odyssey with the 1973 song Ain't That I Don t Love You . Blues legend Freddy King cut the song for the last album he made before he died. Produced by his close friends, T-Bone Burnett ( Oh Brother Where Art Thou ) and Darrell Leonard, co-founder of the Texacali Horns. Buzz's cut, recorded in 2003 and produced by Evan Frankfort and Buzz, is a blues classic, with soaring guitar solos and a gritty vocal. It s easy to understand how Buzz gained a reputation among industry insiders as a highly valued writer, vocalist and guitarist. Buzz original material dominates Golden Pipes, 50 Years Of Buzz Clifford, but he s also included his take on four songs that reflect the spirit he s always brought to his music. With Buzz guiding it, J.J. Cale s Call Me The Breeze retains more of the author s flavor than the hit version by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Elmore James Done Somebody Wrong is an outright blues tour de force. Buzz is as adept proffering pop classics as he is roots staples and his version of the Beaumont/Rech hit, Since I Don t Have You by the Skyliners, reveals the vocal chops that have had labels drooling over his potential throughout the years. Similarly, his treatment of the Jerry Butler classic, He Will Break Your Heart , produced by T Bone Burnett, who also sang the harmony is heartfelt and appropriately understated, with hints of Buzz jazzy sensibility. After his Tulsa experiment, Buzz returned to L.A. in the mid-seventies where he began working with original Beach Boy, singer/guitarist David Marks. He continued writing non-stop and some of the songs from that period are featured on 50 Years, including Up In Smoke , Circles and Creation . Buzz relocated to Portland toward the end of the seventies as he searched relentlessly for the right combination of lyric, melody and attitude. When he returned to the City of Angels several years later, Buzz again hooked up with David Marks, recording the Dave and the Marksman CD under the aegis of producer Daniel Moore (who wrote My Maria for Brooks & Dunn and the classic Three Dog Night hit, Shambala. Buzz has collaborated with dozens of musicians over the years, but one of his most memorable highlights came in the mid-90s when he teamed with his sons in a kick ass blues band. Drummer Reese, bassist John,and David Marks joined Buzz for a year s worth of highly anticipated L.A. club gigs before he departed for Copenhagen to record his CD, Norse Horse with producer James Rasmussen. Back in L.A. in 1999, Buzz was delighted to discover that Beck had used his song I See I Am ( from See Your Way Clear) on Midnight Vultures, changing the title to Milk and Honey in the process. Beck split the writer s credit with Buzz and the album was certified Gold. If Buzz has learned anything over the course of five decades in the business it s that his life is a work in progress and overnight success is merely one song away from becoming reality. As if to emphasize how timeless the songwriting process really is, Buzz closes the two CD set with his 1957 gem, Pididdle , which he recorded at the age of 16 for Bow Records. It s a classic 50s rock-a-billy/doo-wop rave-up, and in it's way, serves as a fitting bookend to a marvelous career that shows no sign of ending.