Maurice Jarre passed away several days ago. He was famous for being a composer for several film scores including Lawrence of Arabia and A Passage to India. However, he was probably most famous for writing “Lara’s Theme” from Dr. Zhivago.
Admittedly, I didn’t think much about the story when I initially read it. However, last week I picked up the CD of Roy Clark’s Live at Billy Bob’s where Roy and his band do a fantastic version of “Lara’s Theme”. At that point it hit me what a fantastic song it is. Growing up I heard it a lot, being used in television shows and it seems to be a staple of music boxes. When you hear something like that so much it’s easy to become number to its quality, maybe even leaning towards dislike if you hear it too much.
When I heard Roy Clark’s version it hit me that it’s one of those songs that transcends its style. It’s a fantastic piece of music regardless of who is performing it.
“About the time that a few folks were beginning to pay a little bit of attention and back up and say ‘Wait a minute, maybe he’s saying something’, along came Hee Haw. That set me back. It also set me up.”
- Roy Clark
It seems that there’s three types of music Roy Clark puts out:
1. Country-tinged songs with incredible guitar/banjo/fiddle playing
2. Novelty songs
3. Schmaltzy, Perry Como-lite songs
The first type is unbelievably good - Roy’s playing is a real pleasure to listen to. I can handle the second type, and the third type varies from tolerable to cringe-inducing.
Timeless: the Classic Concert Performances was released this year and combines what are presumably the best performances off two of his live albums, Roy Clark Live! (1972) and In Concert (1976). Both shows took place in Las Vegas (except for two songs off In Concert which, according to the linear notes, were recorded in a Nashville studio) which gives the music an interesting sort of vibe. In addition to his band, Roy is backed up by a full Frank Sinatra style orchestra. I imagine that this album contains the only versions of “Alabama Jubilee” and “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” with orchestral backgrounds that I will probably ever hear. In another Vegas show tradition, Roy tells jokes and stories between songs.
Some of the songs here are stellar, mostly the standards he covers, including “Rocky Top” and “Orange Blossom Special”. Luckily, the schmaltzy songs are kept to a minimum so they don’t detract from the other performances. There’s something great about listening to shows that were recorded in Vegas showrooms. The smaller venue size lends itself to a more personal experience, and even though he probably played the exact same show dozens of times his performance is full of emotion and enthusiasm.
Listening to this confirms my opinion that Roy Clark is an incredibly underrated guitarist. He’s also great playing the fiddle and banjo. His playing on “Under the Double Eagle” and “Dueling Banjos” is incredible. The latter is one of the highlights here with Roy laying down a challenge to Buck Trent to follow his licks, all the while warning Buck of the dangers of playing better than your boss.
As good as this recording is, another of his live albums, Live at Billy Bob’s Texas is so much better in every way. It has better performances and less of a Vegas influence, so if I was going to go out and buy a Roy Clark album that would be it.
