Tony Joe White has written more than his share of all time classics, including Elvis's Polk Sald Annie, Brook Benton's Rainy Night In Georgia and Tina Turner's Steamy Windows. Back in the 60s he did a good job of singing tham, too. Re-issued a couple of years back, his debut, Black & White, was an incredibly classy slice of country-soul that incuded an astonishingly powerful Willie And Laura Mae Jones.
Since then, he has sunk deeper and deeper into mysterious swamp blues shtick to the point wher his moody, muddy, mumbled recordings are just plain impentrable.
On this latest outing, White turns the spotlight on a bevy of female guest stars. So happy is White to play his dark and laid back card (which is perhaps the only card he has left) that he waits until the middle of track two before opening his mouth, giving us first an instrumental track for openers and then letting Shelby Lynne sing the first half of Can't Go Back Home.
Closing In On The Fire is one of the finest songs that Waylon Jennings recorded in his final years but, despite a fairly exiting 'whomper stomper, guitar solo from White, his duet with Lucinda Williams fails to generate the steamy erotic tension that Waylon brought to the number. Perhaps it's because White's whispery. late night vocals just don't do it for me. Frankly, after a couple of tracks they begin to irk.
Sadly, his hush-hush approach seems te be catching. Playa Del Carmen Nights has a pleasing south of the border lilt, but Tony and hsi daughter Michelle White whisper it to each other like they're trying not to wake the neighbours.
Emmylou Harris is even more breathy and tremulous than usual on the most country track, Wild Wolf Calling Me, and when, presumably responding to peer pressure, Jessi Colter takes the same whispered approach on Fire Flies In The Storm I felt like shouting "for God's sake SING UP!".
Of the solo numbers, Rich Woman's Blues suggests White thinks he's John Lee Hooker. Unfortunately, he ain't. Not by a long chalk on this soporific album of slow moving blues.
Douglas McPherson
October 2004
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