Some Days the Song Writes You (Dualtone, 2009)

In an era where AutoTune seems to be the order of the day, Guy Clark prefers sitting with paper and pen in hand. The longtime songwriter's latest opens with a laidback opener Sometimes You Write The Song with Clark half singing and half speaking his way through the tune akin to John Hiatt. But he opts for more spoken word on The Guitar, which doesn't seem to work well despite some fine picking throughout.

Fortunately, Clark redeems himself with the tender and stellar Hemingway's Whiskey and the gentle toe-tapper The Coat, the latter the sort of tune you could easily nestle into. An economical approach to his songs is something Clark has always done, and All She Wants Is You is no different, a somewhat darker-sounding effort.

The musician also opts to cover Townes Van Zandt's If I Needed You much in the same musical style as the late songwriter with equally lovely results with a fiddle off in the distance to accent the gem. Sounding like he's long in the tooth, but wise beyond his years when it comes to songwriting, Clark nails Eamon perfectly with its slight Celtic feel.

And whether it's a swinging, blues-tinged Wrong Side Of The Tracks or One Way Ticket Down, which resembles a creation between Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch, Clark is still able to craft a solid song.