Tony Joe White
(Swamp)
Say “swamp rock,” and most people think of Creedence Clearwater Revival. But John Fogerty never got as swampy, and certainly never got as funky (dare I say, fonky) as Tony Joe White. “Polk Salad Annie,” the only real hit White himself ever had, stands as the apogee of swamp rock, while Brook Benton’s version of “Rainy Night in Georgia” and Dusty Springfield’s cover of “Willie and Laura Mae Jones” established White as one of the leading southern white soul songwriters of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
And while White’s own records of that era had plenty of atmosphere, they ain’t nothin’ compared to the dark, sinuous grooves to be found on Deep Cuts, on which he re-recorded some of his finest songs with his son Jody, who combined drum loops with a live rhythm section to create an album that’s just flat-out stanky. But the album’s far more than just a product of skillful production. White’s guitar and baritone are still front and center, and on cuts like “Soul Francisco” and the new “Set the Hook” take us deeper into that swamp than he’s ever gone before.
Standout Tracks: “Soul Francisco,” “Roosevelt & Ira Lee” ERIC SCHUMACHER-RASMUSSEN
