Review Of How To Become Clairvoyant?

Robbie Robertson’s fifth album, How to Become Clairvoyant, is his first solo CD in over a decade and a return to the ambitious aural cinema and textural explorations of 1987’s Robbie Robertson and 1991’s Storyville. The album features a sense of a man coming to terms with his past, with Robertson singing “I do not play, no rock and roll” in a distinctive growl. The album also features his own mellowed-down sad-song vocals with the Band, with Clapton even playing a gut-string solo.

How to Become Clairvoyant is Robertson’s most personal and emotional album in 13 years, and it is his best since his self-titled solo debut. It is a proper follow-up to the Band leader’s unblemished solo start, 1987’s Robbie Robertson and Storyville, and rides Eric Clapton. However, How to Become Clairvoyant is a flawed record, with moments of beauty countered by bloated lyrical and production elements. Overall, How to Become Clairvoyant is a testament to Robertson’s commitment to his career and his desire to return to his ambitious aural cinema and textural explorations.