"This is a remarkable first recording by a man who up till now had seemed quite content just to amble into his local pub and knock out a few tunes for the regulars. That’s how I first heard him and I thought he was world class. Of course the regulars knew how  good he was and part of the entertainment was to watch the reaction of visiting players. Mine was delight and disbelief. I think Chris Newman had the same experience & fortunately he didn’t just go home bewildered, he arranged for Clive to come up to his studio and record.

The real story, I found out, is that Clive is a graduate of Trinity College , London , with an honours degree in composition coupled with a performance award for guitar. His technique is blissful and the compositions are beautifully conceived and mature. Clive is only just twenty-four but from his music you would think him a grand old man already. His influences are far broader than might be expected from someone fresh out of college, encompassing elements of Irish traditional music as well as rural American instrumental styles & even chordal jazz guitar. All in all it’s something that the fingerstyle steel-string guitar has been waiting for. And, having Chris Newman as producer/engineer is a great start. Not only is Chris a brilliant player himself, recognising Clive’s talent immediately, he knows how an acoustic guitar should sound and, more to the point, knows how to get that sound in the studio. Clive and Chris are an ideal combination: let’s hope that the collaboration continues for a series of recordings – a long series. But whatever happens, Sixth Sense will certainly mark the arrival of Clive Carroll and, I think, become a milestone on the journey of the steel-string guitar." John Renbourn