Weekly Blues Music Report: Gary Clark, Jr. Upsets!

Now this was totally unexpected: after weeks of stealthy forward momentum, the Billboard magazine blues chart for the week ending January 28, 2012 shows that Texas blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. has unseated long-time champ Hugh Laurie from the number one spot. While I've had readers recommend Laurie's Let Them Talk album, it still smells to me like a dilettantish effort to ward off the boredom of a hit TV show and seven-figure paycheck. Clark, on the other hand, is the real deal, certified bluesy by Eric Clapton (for what that's worth) and following in the hallowed footsteps of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Clark's The Bright Lights EP is a fine collection of songs that will whet the listener's appetite for a full-length LP, hopefully in the near future.

Strangely enough, Clark's move to numero uno gives Warner Brothers Records the top three spots, again, misleading one to believe that the label is interested in blues music. There are a few other surprises on this week's chart as well, as Carolyn Wonderland's wonderful Peace Meal squeezes into the Top Ten, Gregg Allman's Low Country Blues returns to the charts again a year after its first appearance, and the great Etta James' final album, The Dreamer, seems to (finally) be gaining some traction, knocking the singer's long-charting Icon collection back a couple of spots. Joe Bonamassa's Dust Bowl dropped to #12 while the Beth Hart/Bonamassa collaboration, Don't Explain, dropped to #11 after a successful run.

Here are this week's Top Ten blues albums, ranked by sales:

10. Gregg Allman - Low Country Blues (Rounder Records)
9. Carolyn Wonderland - Peace Meal (Bismeaux Productions)
8. Etta James - Icon (Geffen Records)
7. Etta James - The Dreamer (Verve Forecast)
6. Johnny Winter - Roots (Megaforce Records)
5. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Revelator (Sony Masterworks)
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Playlist: The Very Best Of (Sony Legacy)
3. Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton - Play The Blues (Warner Brothers)
2. Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk (Warner Brothers)
1. Gary Clark, Jr. - The Bright Lights EP (Warner Brothers)

New Releases this week: Dion's Tank Full of Blues (Blue Horizon Records)

Photo of Gary Clark, Jr.'s The Bright Lights EP courtesy Warner Brothers