Search - Mighty Sam Mcclain :: Sweet Dreams

For sheer vocal command nobody can beat Sam McClain's red-clay roar. He's riveting, whether slowly chewing the syllables of the country-flavored soul ballad "Learn How to Love You Again" or bending words of devotion into breathy melismatic arches on "Here I Come Again," one of the many songs here that allude to McClain's deep spiritual convictions. Like all the songs on his six 1990s CDs, these are his diary pages. They refer to his childhood escape from an abusive home, his days on skid row, and the comeback that has put him at the apex of the traditional soul-blues world, second only to his idol, Bobby "Blue" Bland. McClain even revisits Patsy Cline's "Sweet Dreams," which he first made an R&B hit in 1966. Unlike the big, exuberant, horns 'n' rhythm sound of Aretha-era Muscle Shoals soul that typifies the rest of this album, his "Dreams" sticks to a spare piano and guitar framework, providing McClain the space to dig so far into his heart we can hear it beating within the tearful shake of his voice. It's high drama--proof that after nearly a half century of struggle, this mighty singer is living his own sweet dreams. --Ted Drozdowski