Now that Tom Petty is finally in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, we can comfortably start talking about contenders to his throne.
Ryan Adams is at the front of the line, but Roger Clyne ain't far behind.
Clyne has all the credentials. He's got attitude, a sense of humor and a sound that defies pigeonholing. He's also got that outlaw rocker thing down pat. He's got the scruffy good looks - though Petty has more scruff and less in the looks department - and he's got a backing band, the Peacemakers, whose name ends with an "s." I rest my case.
Clyne's latest CD, Sonoran Hope and Madness, is steeped in Americana. It's got twangin' and a-bangin' and croonin'.
If only he wasn't from Tempe - that Phoenix suburb that masquerades as a college town. It's because of this that Clyne isn't mentioned in the same revered breath as Jay Farrar of Son Volt or Jeff Tweedy of Wilco - or even Adams, who started with Whiskeytown and is now very successful as a solo artist, thank you very much.
Like Petty and that other '80s Americana guy John Mellencamp, Clyne uses equal parts country and rock 'n roll. But where Petty was from Florida and always had a little Dixie in his mix and Mellencamp was a Hoosier with some Grand Funk in his trunk, Clyne is definitely a Westerner.
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You can see the Arizona horizons in his music. You can feel the arid air brushing against your skin with every strum of the guitar. His music makes a roadtrip sound like a necessity, not just a nice idea.
Clyne has the same outlaw cool that Petty had - the same thing Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings had. It's not necessarily the kind of cool that hipsters respond to, but as the songs on Sonoran Hope and Madness prove, Clyne has Waylon and Willie's best qualitites - humor, bravado and the mystique.
This Clyne is only slightly similar to the Clyne who led the late, lamented Tempe band The Refreshments.
This guy has the same sense of melody, but the pop instincts he showed in the past have mellowed and matured, which isn't to say he's lost any of the fun The Refreshments showed in spades.
Clyne and the Peacemakers' sound is all about the clean honky tonk guitars of Clyne and Steve Larson. Add the aggressive, boot-knockin' rhythm section of bassist Danny White and drummer P.H. Naffah and you have a truly versatile, powerful band that accentuates Clyne's sinewy songwriting.
Sonoran Hope and Madness is a great showcase for that songwriting. Clyne is versatile enough to knock off a rocker - the Mellencamp-esque "Mile High and Risin'" or the Petty-esque "Colorblind Blues" - as well as he can write a winsome ballads like "Sleep Like a Baby."
But Clyne never sounds overwrought, and he's never as serious as many Americana guys get. "Bury My Heart at the Trailer Park" is a wry, teasing ode to white trash while "Smaller and Better Things" is simply a sly rocker.
Clyne may not have the approval of the hipper-than-thou No Depression crowd. But he's got what it takes to put some mud in the mainstream. Like Willie and Waylon, Petty and Mellencamp, Roger Clyne is a musical outlaw with a heart of gold and a silver tongue.
Ryan Adams, you best move over, 'cause Clyne's a-comin'.
