Granted, not all of the world’s greatest songwriters hail from Texas—but a disproportionate amount of the best ones do. And Guy Clark is one of the best of the best, widely regarded as songwriter’s songwriter on the same level as Clark’s late friend, Townes Van Zandt. The shortlist of artists who have covered Clark’s songs includes Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Jeff Walker and George Straight, but nobody does Clark better than Clark himself. From his earliest classicsmore

Granted, not all of the world's greatest songwriters hail from Texas -- but a disproportionate amount of the best ones do. And Guy Clark is one of the best of the best, widely regarded as songwriter's songwriter on the same level as Clark's late friend, Townes Van Zandt. The shortlist of artists who have covered Clark's songs includes Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Jeff Walker and George Straight, but nobody does Clark better than Clark himself. From his earliest classics like L.A. Freeway and Desperados Waiting for the Train (from his 1975 debut, Old No. 1) through to his more recent gems off of albums like 1995's Dublin Blues and 2002's The Dark, Clark's songs are marvels of remarkably detailed yet Spartan poetry and melodic craftsmanship. To borrow a line from one of his best latter-day songs, it's a body of work perhaps summed up as stuff that works...stuff that's real.