Wears Like Iron

CD Review

Written, collected. and performed by Teresa Clark. Available from http://teresaclark.blogspot.com.

Recorded and engineered by Stone Wind Studios: Ammon Idaho

$15.00, plus .90 sales tax and $3.50 shipping and handling

Reviewed by Linda Goodman

         In her sweet, clear voice, Teresa Clark blends folktale and personal story, generations of family wisdom and experience, and the wonder of rare insights that seem to come only after we have lived long enough for our memories to span the decades.

            In Wears Like Iron, Teresa bears her heart to the listener, and the listener feels honored to be a confidant.   There Was a Time wraps a personal story about an inconvenient grandmother inside an honored folktale that pays homage to the wisdom of the aged.  Think that youngsters are not interested in the lives of pioneers? Think again.

            Grandpa’s Gift is a story of religious bigotry going up against a wall of faith.  Courage passed from generation to generation is doubly strong. Bigotry and ignorance do not stand a chance against a true believer.

            Watch It will bring a smile to the face of anyone who has ever had a bad experience as a new driver. Can bad driving really be genetic?

            The title track from this CD, Wears Like Iron, is a thing of beauty. The Barbizon satin that Clark uses in her quilting is “soft as a whisper, cool to the touch, and wears like iron.”  The ties that bind, however, are formed by family love. Clark reminds us of this in a way that we will not soon forget.

            Clark’s stories are rich in detail and exquisite imagery.  As I listened, I vividly saw the grandmother who rolled her support hosiery down “like donuts” and let them fall “in a puddle” at her feet. I felt Clark’s fear as she was confronted by one who did not respect her faith.  I remembered driving mishaps from days past. I reached for my mother’s quilts for comfort. For me, this CD was a walk down Memory Lane, one that I did not mind taking, for a change.

            Laura Dowling designed a beautiful cover, featuring a sepia toned heart, that perfectly captures the intensity that builds through this CD.  There were some distractions created by glitches in the sound, particularly in There Was a Time, but they did not take away from my enjoyment of the stories. Clark’s fine writing and melodic voice form a magic carpet that lifts the stories beyond technical imperfections.