Danny Wilson
Meet Danny Wilson

THE REVIEW

Scotland, for those who love passions that smolder under the ashes, gentle melancholies, joys unshouted, "bittersweet" nostalgias, is, more than a geographical region, a place of the soul. In the "Country of Rain," the guardian spirits of the most refined melodies have found their ideal home; there, the elusive elves still live, the only custodians of the secret formula to distill an inimitable pop with high emotional content.

The Danny Wilson, from Dundee, already with their debut album dated 1987, "Meet Danny Wilson", demonstrated, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were among the select circle of initiates to whom such a formula has been revealed. And Gary Clark, the band's leader, could, with good reason, claim a seat at the vast Round Table of talented songwriters born beyond Hadrian's Wall, sitting among Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) and Ricky Ross (Deacon Blue).
"Meet Danny Wilson", a title that directly quotes a Frank Sinatra film, was a bright meteor that crossed the twilight skies of 80s pop music, remaining in orbit for a while thanks to the notable success of a couple of well-chosen singles, among the best songs to reach the charts' peaks in those years, "Davy" and "Mary's Prayer". Among Clark's reference models are Paddy McAloon (Prefab Sprout) and especially Steely Dan, and like them, he manages to impeccably combine lightness and depth, poetry and easy listening. In the album, his remarkable compositional abilities, innate sense for melody, and uncommon singing qualities have the chance to express themselves to the fullest. All the best strands of pop music, from Bacharach onwards, in the thirteen tracks that comprise the album, swirl together like in a kaleidoscope, gifting ever-changing images. It's a breathtaking fireworks display: sounds, insights, ideas, sublime melodies follow one after another. But all this turns out to be, and perhaps this is the album's most evident quality, fluid and complex at the same time.

Clark manages to make easy what has always been the hardest hurdle to overcome for a pop songwriter: writing accessible, catchy, "easy" songs that, at the same time, have a soul, don't bore after the third listening, leave a mark. And surely it is not easy to forget "Aberdeen", a sunny recollection at the beginning of the work, “set” between the two mentioned singles; or the jazzy delight of "Nothing Ever Goes To Plan", which warms more than a punch. Similarly, the engaging crescendo of "Broken China", the track with the most emotional impact, cannot leave one indifferent.
But the album offers other surprises, such as the tear-jerking, Felliniesque, band interlude, with the brass in great form, of "Ruby's Golden Wedding" or the "joejacksonian" "Steam to the Milk Away", a song that projects you into the spring landscapes of the native Highlanders.

Gary Clark and his Danny Wilson, after this jewel, on the trail of the success achieved, managed to release only one more LP a couple of years later, "BeBop MopTop", not up to its level but warmly recommended. After alternating events as a soloist and author, the good Gary has decided to take up residence in that silent limbo hosting many other talented songwriters of the 80s, whose stars shone brightly but, alas, too briefly: the already mentioned Frame and Ross, Lloyd Cole, Nick Heyward, Bob Hewerdine (the magnificent "The Bible!"), John Campbell ("It's Immaterial"), Terry Hall ("The Colourfield"), Chris Isaak... sometimes knowing a magic formula can be a real curse.