JD Clayton - Long Way From Home
(Mulberry Records, 2023)
And home, with one singer/songwriter JD Clayton, is Fort Smith, Arkansas. Nestled in the northwest corner of Sebastian County, Fort Smith existed on the border of the Wild West and Indian Territory to great romantic effect at the end of the 19th century. Fort Smith, known as "Hell on the border," was home to the famous Judge Isaac Charles Parker, who earned the nickname "Hanging Judge" for his tendency to administer justice in the mostly untamed Fort Smith. The town, on the edge of the west, was a rowdy community filled with brothels, saloons, and outlaws.
The city is unforgiving in the summer months, providing an atmosphere intolerant of nonsense, a culture predisposed to genuine and plain-spoken people. Clayton comes from a long line of such people. His music is honest and his presentation is unadorned. Hell, his website includes only tour, music, and contact information. Clayton is Mr. "Wysiwyg." Clayton and his hometown exist smack-dab in the middle of "Red Dirt Music," that brand of tunes deriving its name from the color of east Oklahoma soil, that same dirt one hears in the voices of Leon Russell and JJ Cale. the singer’s voice reflects the same grit tempered with tears.
Clayton favors a sinewy sound, seasoned with a mercury slide guitar and morphine-warm pedal steel: both can be heard right out of the chute with "American Millionaire" and later on "Heartaches After” "Heartaches After Heartbreak" is a sure show-stopper, played after that sad ballad, like the title cut or the mellow lilt of "different Special Life." Clayton is capable of "Countrypolitan" as evidenced on "Goldmine" and cover material, channeling Huddie Leadbetter's famous "Cotton fields" by way of Creedence Clearwater Revival. JD Clayton is the past, present, and future of this music.