Sam Clark - Album Review

Take Me Home

Take Me Home is the debut album from Sam Clark, who you may also know as Ringo Brown in Australian soap Neighbours.
Like many alumni of the Australian soap, Sam has decided go in to music after years of singing, playing the guitar and playing the piano.

Sam has all the ingredients to make it as a musician, good voice, he’s musically skilled, he writes his own music, good looks, an awesome backing band and a very loyal fan base in Australasia and the United Kingdom.

With the explosion of social networking sites, like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, Sam and his band (Pete Vlanes, Mike Maio and Dan Maio) have been able to interact with their fans by participating in Facebook question and answer sessions and by responding to tweets from many of their followers.

Like some past occupants of the cul-de-sac in Erinsborough, Sam has performed some of his songs on the show (Send Me a Sign, Devastated, Suddenly). This has meant that Sam can get his music out to a wider audience.

The first track from the album is ‘Never Should Have Left’.
It has a catchy opening and riff making the song memorable throughout.
This may be one of the more recognisable songs that hasn’t yet been released as a single, as it has been performed on Sam’s ‘Broken’ tour in Australia and there are many fan videos of it being performed live on YouTube, where you can also find many of Sam’s official videos and video tour diaries, which make entertaining viewing.
The chorus is catchy with memorable lyrics which are easy to sing along to. It then leads in to the middle 8th where there is a brief guitar solo with added effects and is followed by vocals.
This song is the perfect opening to the album and the best possible introduction into the music of Sam Clark as it sets the tone for the style of music you are about hear.

Track 2 is ‘Devastated’ and is Clark’s 3rd single from his debut album.

It reached No. 1 in the ARIA Physical Singles Charts in Australia and is due for UK release on October 10th.
Fans of Neighbours first heard Devastated on the show when Sam’s Character, Ringo Brown, wanted to get back together with Donna Freedman, and so live on PirateNet (the shows local radio station) he performed the song acoustically (and won her back).
The track starts off with vocals and guitar and is soon joined by drums and bass guitar.
The bridge is a catchy collection of ‘Do Do Do’s` that hooks the song on to the chorus.
In this track you can hear more or less the full range of the actor turned musician’s vocal abilities.
After the final chorus the song ends with a short but soft piano.
It is easy to see why this song shot to No. 1 in Australia.

The 3rd song from Take Me Home is ‘Save Us Tonight’ and with lyrics like ‘Oh Lord’, ‘God will save us tonight’ and ‘Pray for us, Pray for me tonight’ you would think it is a religious song, however as Sam recently explained on his tour of Australia, it may sound like a religious song but it is actually about “Accepting people for who they are, no matter what their race.”
It is a quite relaxing song that merges the chilled verse in to an uplifting chorus which sort of reaffirms your faith that in the end everything will turn out for the best.
It then goes in to the middle 8th after the 2nd chorus which compromises of harmonies and a simple acoustic guitar that build up in to the final elevating chorus.

‘Broken’ was Sam Clark’s first single release which established him as a musician with a pop/rock edge and is the 4th track on the album.

Sam has described it as a “breakup song that is about the growth of people – so obviously a love lost, but it’s the way that people deal with that after the loss of love and after you’re apart for awhile.”
“How two people can grow apart without ever realising it. Especially after a break up”
It starts off with a very produced sound and vocals joined by piano and leads into a pop/rock chorus.
The middle 8th is more rocky than earlier in the song and leads in to the ending chorus.
All of that made an excellent debut single which it went straight to No. 1 in Australia Physical Singles Chart.

Track 5 is ‘Send Me a Sign’ and was Sam Clark’s second single released from the album.

It opens with guitar and joined by Sam’s vocals, which like ‘Never Should Have Left’ stays prominent in the verses and is a great run up to the slightly harder choruses.
The middle 8th comes in straight from the second chorus and is a great lead up to the final chorus and ending of the song.
In an interview with Ravereview.com.au Sam said “The song is about running away from something in your life, and looking at whether or not something is the right thing to do.”

The 6th track is a song called ‘Come So Far’ and is a chilled, tranquil song on the album and was an ITunes B-side to ‘Broken’.
The opening compromises of guitar, brings a smile to your face as it has a smooth feel to the song and uplifting lyrics, which make you feel peaceful and almost in a state bliss.
This is the kind of song you could imagine having as the backing track to a montage of your life.

‘Lay Me Down’ is the 7th song on the album and opens with a bit of a rocky country guitar solo and is then joined by bass and drums, which makes you want to stay tuned to see what will become of what you have heard.
The verse kicks in with vocals and the guitar riff which start off the song is constant in the verse and bridges.
When this is performed in a show, I feel that the song, along with the atmosphere, would definitely get the crowd on their feet.
Sam’s vocals in ‘Lay Me Down’, ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Never Should Have Left’ are definitely the strongest on the album.

‘Catching up ‘was another one of the ‘Broken’ B-sides to make it on to the album and is the 8th track.
Like ‘Come So Far’, it opened with guitar and has a tranquil feel to it, which makes this a good song to listen to if you need to escape from reality for a few minutes.
Although this is a relaxed song the lyrics suggest that the song is about wanting to get back to the way things used to be after having been busy for such a long time, needing to chill out for a while and take everything in.
All of the vocals and lyrics are simple, but that is what adds to the beauty of this track, making it very easy listening.

Track 9, ‘Messenger’, is a good pop song which the lyrics suggest seeing things from point of view and that everything bad that happens to you isn’t always your fault and that there is always someone who will be there for you.
Like many of the other album tracks it opens with vocals and guitar with the rest of the band joining soon after, making it a slightly harder sound when it gets to the chorus. The middle 8th is a vocal solo by Sam of the first bridge with a small amount of guitar then a lead up into a where there is a slight delay between the vocal and instrumental into the chorus.

‘Take Me Home’ takes the number of tracks into double figures and starts off sounding a bit like Irish band ‘The Script’ with the punchy vocals in the verses and bridges.
The choruses stick with some punchy vocals and transcends in a middle 8th with Take Me Home repeated up until the final chorus and repeat of the final verse leading to backing vocals and repeat of some of the lyrics in the chorus then backing music to fade.

‘Suddenly’ is the final and bonus track on the album and is a cover of Angry Anderson’s infamous song which was used in Scott and Charlene’s wedding in Neighbours in 1987.
Sam’s recording was used recently in his own on-screen nuptials to his long time love Donna Freedman.

The lyrics in the song have shown why it has become a favourite for weddings.

It is about accepting someone for who they are and wanting to spend the rest of your life with them. The perfect message for the beginning of a life together and a perfect end to the album.