RATO RECORDS: tony joe white

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sexta-feira, 20 de dezembro de 2019

TONY JOE WHITE: "The Train I'm On"

Original released on LP Warner Bros WB 46147

(US 1972, June 15)

Tony Joe White's second Warner Bros. album is an awesome, exquisite musical jewel and a departure from most of the attributes for which he is best known, from songs like "Polk Salad Annie." Acoustic textured for much of its length and built on a close, intimate sound overall, "The Train I'm On" is permeated with the dark side of White's usual swamp rock sound, filled with songs about unsettled loves and lives, and men caught amid insoluble situations. Betraying surprising vulnerability for much of its length, even on songs like "If I Ever Saw a Good Thing" and "300 Pounds of Hongry" (among the few full band numbers here, with a gorgeous sax solo by Charles Chalmers on the former), he shows off an emotional complexity that wasn't always obvious on his earlier work, only really cutting loose boldly on "Even Trolls Love Rock and Roll" and a tiny handful of other cuts. The rest is dark, pensive, soulful bluesy rock, highlighted by some bristling acoustic guitar work (check out "As the Crow Flies") and superb singing throughout ("The Migrant" is worth the price of admission by itself). [The album was reissued in 2002 by Sepia Tone with new annotation, in a beautifully remastered mid-price edition.] (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)

TONY JOE WHITE

Original released on LP Warner Bros WB 1900

(US, February 1971)

Tony Joe White's self-titled third album, "Tony Joe White", finds the self-proclaimed swamp fox tempering his bluesy swamp rockers with a handful of introspective, soul-dripping ballads and introducing horn and string arrangements for the first time. The album - White's 1971 debut for Warner Bros. - was recorded over a two-week period in December 1970, in two different Memphis studios (one was Ardent Studios, where Big Star later recorded their influential power pop albums). His producer was none other than London-born Peter Asher, who had just produced James Taylor's early hits for the label (he would continue to produce hits for Taylor and Linda Ronstadt on his way to becoming one of the most successful producers of the '70s). One can surmise that Warner Bros may have put White and Asher together as a way for the producer to work his magic with an artist who had much promise. White had already scored big with 1969's "Polk Salad Annie" for Monument, and he was having success as a songwriter too: "Rainy Night in Georgia" was a huge hit for Brook Benton in 1970. As you might expect, there aren't really too many surprises here, despite the addition of the Memphis Horns and other Muscle Shoals sessioners. The songs are fairly standard and straightforward, nothing too out of place or experimental, and White's husky southern warble remains the album's key focus. Many of the songs will remind the listener just how turbulent the cultural climate of the late '60s and early '70s was in the U.S. White's soulful southern-tinged spoken drawl introduces "The Change" (as in a "change is gonna come"), then a potent theme and oft-spoke clarion call that, indeed, the times they were a changin'. "Black Panther Swamps" and "I Just Walked Away" (the album's first single) are also successful at what they attempt. Meanwhile, over on the more sentimental side, "The Daddy" concerns itself with the generation gap between father and son, and mentions the son cutting his long hair ("a little respect will never hurt you"). The mawkish "Five Summers for Jimmy" will appeal to fans who liked Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey." On a more positive note, "A Night in the Life of a Swamp Fox" was White's somewhat-frustrating look at what was going on in his life, playing his sole hit for fans but wanting something more out of his career. Unfortunately, this album never did bring him the success he craved, although it deserves another listen. In 2002, "Tony Joe White" was reissued for the first time in the U.S. on CD by the Sepia Tone label. (Bryan Thomas in AllMusic)

terça-feira, 25 de junho de 2019

TONY JOE WHITE: "Lake Placid Blues"

Original released on CD Remark Records 527 530-2 (1995)

This is a masterly done album, truly. Tony Joe White has grown as a composer and a musician, and here he writes beautifull songs and melodies, and arranges them in a masterly way, with some tunes really in the groove. Great guitar too. This album should be more appreciated. Listen to it, guys! Especially "Lake Placid Blues", "Menutha", "Bayou Woman", "High Horse" and "Yo Yo Man". (in RateYourMusic)

segunda-feira, 19 de novembro de 2018

TONY JOE WHITE: "Uncovered"

Original released on CD Swamp Records SRCD 061

(US 2006, September 5)

Swamp Fox indeed. At this juncture, Tony Joe White should be called the Swamp Monster because on "Uncovered" he takes it to the limit. There are seven new cuts on "Uncovered", and reworked versions of "Rainy Night in Georgia," "Taking the Midnight Train," and "Did Somebody Make a Fool Out of You." White has been making records for a long time, though not many in the U.S. noticed after the late '70s. Since late in the last century, White has been kicking them out from his home studio in Nash Vegas. The sound is trademark, slow-burning, and growling. It's sultry as a late August night in the bayou. There are also, as is becoming de rigueur for legends these days, some surprise guest appearances. White has used them before and recently, on his killer "Heroines" set, where he played and sang with Shelby Lynne, Lucinda Williams, and Emmylou Harris. This time out he's got some great partners. He cut "Not One Bad Thought," with Mark Knopfler. The skittering interplay between them is worth the disc price to be sure. The pair apparently got together around a campfire with some food and beer and played the tune there first; they cut it in the studio shortly thereafter. Michael McDonald - yep, that one - guests on piano and vocals on "Don't Look Down," and it works like a charm, surprisingly. But the biggest news here is "Shakin' the Blues" with the late Waylon Jennings. It's one of the last performances he ever wrote or laid down on tape, and the pair feel like the old friends they are.

White can sing or play with anybody, which is why his music translated so well to other performers - primarily soul and R&B artists - but when collaborating, that guitar and slow, drawling menace are so sinister, there's no mistake about whose tune it is. Only on "Shakin the Blues" does that feel different, because of the sheer strength of Jennings' enigma. On other tracks, such as "Louvelda," J.J. Cale contributed from Oklahoma, and wrote and sang two new verses for the song. Eric Clapton recorded his additions to "Did Somebody Make a Fool Out of You" from London and sent them - ahhhh - via digital technology. The whispering, funky blues of "Rebellion" when White lets it rip is another high point, and his band is perfectly suited to his pace and tension dynamic. "Rainy Night in Georgia," suffers not a bit from having been re-recorded. It's still one of the most beautiful songs to come out of the Deep South. The disc ends on an evil note with "Keeper of the Fire," with its fuzzed-out blues simmer and soulful backing vocals by Odessa Settles, and a horn section featuring Wayne Jackson on trumpet. White never needs to raise his voice because the power in its nearly whispered restraint has all the power of a slow-burning fire that becomes a blaze. For those who didn't already know, White is back - with a vengeance. (Thom Jurek in AllMusic)