Clay Collins

Descending an Uphill Climb is a blues and rock album that takes a hard, and often humorous look at the state of the socio-political-religious world of the late eighties and early nineties.

By ’92, the band had a new drummer, Peter Vann, and a more skeptical edge. It is not a religious album, per se, although its perspective still comes from a place of Christian faith. As one critic has said, the album “challenges the culture away from cold and insular dogma,” and, as it turns out, was far more prophetic in some of its observations than anyone could have known at the time. Everybody's a Fundamentalist (Except Me) became an audience favorite, with some fans knowing all the words!

It was first released in 1992 under a different title, and then re-imagined, re-mixed and re-mastered in 2024.

A highlight of the recording sessions was Paul’s runaway freight train of a blues harp solo on The Knee Jerk. The second half of the solo section was supposed to be saved for guitar, but Paul was on a roll, and we just let him fly!

Credits
Produced by Clay Collins and Jeff Dykhouse
All songs written by Clay Collins, except Valley of the Shadow, music by Larry Norman
Recorded and mixed by Jeff Dykhouse at Jephtha Studios, Temecula, CA, 1992
Additional engineering by Eddie Keaggy and Brian Quick
Re-imagined, re-mixed and re-mastered by Clay Collins at St. Thomas Studios,
Pleasant Hill, CA, 2024
Photography by Amy Sibiga
Nurse voice by Kelly Chittenden

The Band
Clay Collins: acoustic guitar, electric rhythm and lead guitars, slide guitar, lead and background vocals, bass, keyboards, piano, percussion
Andy Kern: electric guitar, background vocals
Brian Quick: bass, background vocals
Peter Vann: drums, percussion, background vocals

Additional musicians
Jeff Dykhouse: keyboards, piano on Fundamentalist, arrangement of Street Sweeper
Bob Hartry: electric guitar on Street Sweeper

Special thanks to: Larry Norman, Mark Heard, Pat Terry; Carl Sandburg and Billy Gibbons for the inspiration; Paul and Melinda, Steve Kalkwarf, Dan Strain, aka “Dr. Whammy", for the Joe Perry imitation; Martha for the Indian on the veranda; and Dave Zavatti for the original fish joke.  

℗ and © 1992, 2024  High Top Records  HTR-003, HTR-005