Listening to “I Walk The Line” suggests that the song is musically simple, and it is, but only to a point. All these years later, it’s still a compelling and unassuming country masterpiece. It thrives on simplicity its bare-bones instrumentation, honest lyrics, and innocent appeal have helped it hold ground amongst countless other love songs. Written, recorded, and released by Johnny Cash in 1956, the song has become almost as much of a legend as the man himself. There’s no mistaking the freight train rhythm of “I Walk The Line”. Much of it was improvised, raw, and relaxed - everything that was needed for the music of The Beatles to flourish.īefore the band left the rooftop, John Lennon gave the now-infamous closing statement: “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we’ve passed the audition.” No doubt the impromptu audience of an iconic band had been caught off guard from the start. The setlist included several versions of “Get Back” and “Don’t Let Me Down”, as well as “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, “I’ve Got A Feeling”, “One After 909”, “Danny Boy”, “Dig A Pony”, “God Save The Queen”, and “A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody”. This trailblazing moment in music history could have easily been lost to legend had it not been recorded. Both the Let It Be album and film have kept the creativity and spontaneity of the rooftop concert alive. What had been planned ahead of time was for the concert to be recorded. The concert might have gone on longer, had the police not put it to an end. Crowds gathered below for the unannounced 45-minute concert, and all the surrounding city bustle came to a halt to experience the music in that moment. Taking the rooftop as their stage was at the time a completely new idea, and one that would take the busy streets of London by surprise. The Beatles hadn’t performed live for over two years, wanting to get away from the overwhelming atmosphere of stadiums and to focus on being creative in the studio. The performance was used as the final footage for their Let It Be film, but has stood out on its own as one of the most iconic moments of The Beatles’ career. What has come to be known as the rooftop concert, the band gathered together on the top of the Apple building in London on January 30, 1969. It was 50 years ago today that The Beatles made their final live appearance as a band. This may end up being one of the greatest and most important albums of the year, and of Clark’s career. It would have been easy for him to settle into his legacy as the new great rock ‘n’ roller, but instead he clearly pushed his music further, surpassing genre restrictions and creating an album with real purpose. won’t let himself get trapped in a single genre, leaving the album filled with surprises. There’s a strong sense with This Land that Gary Clark Jr. Surf rock gets infused with R&B in “When I’m Gone”, while the foot-stomping “Dirty Dishes Blues” brings the music back to the roots. The album is filled with the kind of inspiration that drives the best musicians forward, and keeps listeners tuning in. He pushes his style even further with falsetto vocals, which bring a level of fragility to “Pearl Cadillac”. The fifteen-plus tracks mix together a wide variety of influences, including reggae, punk, and big band swing under the larger umbrella of rock and blues. There’s no doubt that Clark approached this album with a strong sense of fearlessness and freedom in self-expression. The song’s scathing honesty comes from Clark’s own life experience, making it so much more real in a world that needs integrity. This Land clearly stands as a pinnacle of this growth, with its title track serving as an anthem against racism and injustice. While mainstream culture has tried for so long to push the arts aside as unnecessary and powerless, within the past several years there has already been so much growth in music’s role in social change.

This Land comes to us in a time that needs music as a force for change. Now that the album is finally here, it stands out as a creative achievement that no one could have anticipated.

has taken his place as a spokesman through his music, using his voice and career to fight injustice. The anticipation for This Land has rightly been intense since releasing its stellar title track as a single a month ago, Gary Clark Jr. His unique blend of rock, blues, and hip-hop has been his trademark, but with the release of his third studio album on February 22, his legacy is soaring beyond musical technique and style.

The guitarist has already built a legacy as the modern-day rock hero, often being likened to Jimi Hendrix. For Gary Clark Jr., This Land is a milestone.

Unannounced picturesque lyrics