Clutch, Book of Bad Decisions: Right Turns, Right Time
Most of all, it’s a good time. With the flag of their home state of Maryland as their banner, Clutch are some 25 years removed from the release of their debut album, Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes and Undeniable Truths, and their latest work through their own Weathermaker Music imprint, Book of Bad Decisions, finds the self-sustaining, ever-touring groove lords in energetic form with a collection of marked character and 15 varied tracks just about all of which would function well in the live sphere as 56 minutes of a probably-longer headlining set. The permanent lineup of vocalist/sometimes-guitarist Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster worked with producer Vance Powell (Jack White, Tinariwen, Buddy Guy, etc.) with the stated intent of capturing a more live-feeling sound, and tonally and in terms of their delivery, they meet that goal.
As in the past, the producer is an important consideration in Clutch‘s overall impression on a given record, and Powell makes a mark here in taking over for Machine, who helmed their last two outings, 2015’S Psychic Warfare (review here) and 2013’s Earth Rocker (review here), the earlier of which seemed very much to be the blueprint the latter followed in terms of structure, sound and component styles. Three years later, Book of Bad Decisions makes a well-timed departure, learning the lessons of its two predecessors but not being beholden all the way through to the patterns they established. Of course, Clutch‘s sound has its established tenets, trademark quirks, etc., and those remain intact. But there’s a shift in approach throughout even straightforward songs like “Vision Quest” and “H.B. is in Control,” and no doubt manifesting that was part of the reason the band traded out producers in the first place. Though Machine manned the board for 2004’s landmark Blast Tyrant (discussed here; reissue review here), after two outings back to back, it was time for a change.
Clutch issued four singles leading up to the release of Book of Bad Decisions, and each one introduces a different side of the album’s personality. They started with “Gimme the Keys,” which opens the album at a speedy clip in the spirit of “X-Ray Visions” and “Earth Rocker” as Fallon recounts a dangerous night on the road in the Midwest, touting a punk rocker’s guilt at the nostalgia all the while — a nostalgia that would seem to inform the subsequent “Spirit of ’76” and the later “Vision Quest” to some degree as well — before “How to Shake Hands” furthered the gonna-be-president theme of “One Eye Dollar” from 1999’s Jam Room and 2007’s From Beale Street to Oblivion (reissue review here) with a memorable hook about putting “Jimi Hendrix on the 20-dollar bill and Bill Hicks on a five note.”
With a mid-paced shuffle and active guitar flourish from Sult atop intricate snare work from Gaster, “How to Shake Hands” is a stage-ready track through and through, and as Maines locks down the groove in still-a-secret-after-all-these-years weapon fashion, Fallon, Fallon even seems to sing along with himself in layers for the chorus. The third advance cut, the slide-guitar-laden “Hot Bottom Feeder” (video posted here) brilliantly plays off the four-piece’s Maryland heritage in lyrics that offer a recipe for crab cakes and makes itself a late-album highlight surrounded by songs like “H.B. is in Control” — the initials standing for Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch — and the shoving “Paper and Strife,” both of which are solid back-end cuts leading to the longer closer of the second LP, “Lorelei,” a slower, bluesier answer to its LP1 counterpart, “Emily Dickinson,” which executes a similar feel and adds a shimmering psychedelic lead late from Sult that’s classic sounding and a departure for Clutch all the same, but among the most welcome advents on the album as a whole.
The fourth single, and perhaps most interesting of all, is “In Walks Barbarella,” which might be the side B leadoff, but in any case resounds after the opening salvo of “Gimme the Keys,” “Spirit of ’76,” the title-track and “How to Shake Hands,” with horns included and lyrics that would seem likewise to be a nod to go-go D.C. funk acts like Parliament (the Mothership makes an appearance), Trouble Funk and Chuck Brown. Hardly Clutch‘s first engagement with funk as a style — it’s an essential component in Sult‘s riffing and Maines‘ classy-as-always basswork, but the level is upped and the genre is called out by name — again on the speedier “Ghoul Wrangler” as well, so if Book of Bad Decisions is marking the advent of ‘C-funk,’ so be it. “In Walks Barberella” is loaded with lyrical references to science fiction, Deep Purple, etc., and has the feeling of another live staple-to-be in kind with Earth Rocker‘s “D.C. Sound Attack,” but again, pushed further.
It’s somewhat telling that three out of the four singles appear within the first five tracks, in that Clutch definitely know how to introduce a release to their fanbase — pro-rock and all that — but songs like the ultra-catchy “Vision Quest,” the boogie-minded “A Good Fire” and the speedy “Weird Times” all offer hooks and signature elements of Clutch being Clutch, the latter dipping a bit into social commentary of the present moment’s confusion and barrage, though the basic image of “H.B. is in Control” is perhaps even more effective in that effort. Of particular note is the return of organ to the band’s arrangement repertoire, something they last included on From Beale Street to Oblivion over a decade ago, parting ways with Mick Schauer prior to the release of 2009’s Strange Cousins from the West (discussed here). It first appears on “Book of Bad Decisions” itself and is peppered throughout, adding bluesy feel to “Emily Dickinson,” “Sonic Counselor” and “Lorelei” in a seeming show that, after three records pointedly without, nothing is off-limits for Clutch at this point.
Such expansions of sound, along with the piano that would seem to be worked into “Vision Quest” and the breadth of moments like Sult‘s guitar at the end of “Emily Dickinson,” are emblematic of the right choices Clutch have suitably enough made on Book of Bad Decisions, and they add depth to the context of the down-to-basics material in “Paper and Strife,” “Weird Times” (though there’s some subtle and effective vocal layering in the verses there; a kind of melodic call and response) and “A Good Fire,” all of which remain excellently composed and rife with hooks and engaging rhythmic turns. Speaking as a Clutch fan, there’s little not to enjoy on Book of Bad Decisions, and though so much of the band’s focus for the last two decades — at least — has been on live performance, the album serves as a reminder of the force they can be in a studio setting as well.
One wonders if they’ll tour again with someone handling keys, but whether they do or don’t, those elements are put to excellent use in across the 2LP’s formidable span, and as much as Fallon, Sult, Maines and Gaster build momentum during their time to carry listeners from one end to the other — or at very least lead the celebratory parade — they also provide distinctive moments to stand their songs out from each other and from past offerings, even if it’s more a question of aspects recombined rather than revolutionized. Ultimately, Book of Bad Decisions is another righteous collection from an American rock institution, a national treasure of groove and one of the most distinguished acts on a forever-touring circuit. They are in it for the long haul, and these songs only further demonstrate how fortunate their audience is for that.
Need to headline Psycho next year!!!!
Friday can’t come soon enough. I dig those song comparisons to previous album material.
The live sound on this album gets better and better as i’ve kept on with each single release leading up to the album.