By Ken Paulson
Tony Joe White will always be associated with his swamp-rock hit “Polk Salad Annie,” but a new collection from Real Gone Music reveals an artist of greater depth and breadth.
The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings includes 40 tracks released between 1972 and 1974, including three albums and six songs issued on singles. White had enjoyed his greatest commercial success on Monument Records, and these recordings were largely overlooked and underappreciated.
You can’t say Warner Bros. didn’t try. They paired him with some of the hottest producers of the era and sent him to three iconic music towns to record.
Tony Joe White was produced by Peter Asher in Memphis in 1970. It’s a mixed outing, with “Polk Salad derivatives (“They Caught the Devil and Put Him in Jail in Eudora, Arkansas”) and the autobiographical “A Night in the Life of the Swamp Fox.”
“The Change” could have used one more draft. The drawled narrative: “It’s about a time of the year we call the fall.”
The gem here is “The Daddy,” a message to a teen-aged girl about finding an understanding with her father.
The Train I’m On found White in Muscle Shoals working with Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. “Take Time to Love,” written with Donnie Fritts, reminds of us of White’s way with a ballad, exemplified by his earlier “Rainy Night in Georgia.” The album also features “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby,” a Top 40 hit in Elvis Presley’s hands in 1974.
Another Presley single – “For ‘Ol’ Times Sake” – is a highlight of Homemade Ice Cream, a 1973 album recorded with Dowd in Nashville. It’s the most satisfying of the three albums, with a laid-back feel and a fine collection of songs.
White continues to tour and record, a testament to his enduring talents as both a performer and songwriter. The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings is compelling evidence of both.