Robbie Robertson

How To Become Clairvoyant (429)

Proper follow-up to the Band leader’s unblemished solo start, 1987’s Robbie Robertson and Storyville (1991), rides Eric Clapton uptown on seven tracks, 3am urban blues for the limousine set. Slowhand’s whale tones on “He Don’t Live Here No More” meet Robertson’s gut-string pluck, while Steve Winwood’s organ grounds “She’s Not Mine” prior to the SRV clichés of “Axman.” Even so, the Clairvoyant‘s long-simmered songcraft rarely tarnishes.

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This article appears in May 20 • 2011.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.