Tony Joe White: Black And White - 1969

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This was the debut album from genuine backwoods Louisiana po'boy Tony Joe White. He really did grow up in the cottonfields and the bayous, cookin' up a mess of polk salad and watching out for them gators. It is a wonderful, atmospheric mix of blues, blues rock, funk, soul, swamp rock. 

The sound on this latest edition is outstanding - great stereo, warm bass and clear reproduction. White has a great (forgive me) white soul voice and he knows how to tell a tale. 

The first half of the album are White's songs and the second half are covers, mainly of soul songs done in his swamp style. In that respect it reminds me a little of those Four Tops albums where the first half was classic Motown, the second made up of covers. For me, although he covers the songs very impressively, the best material is his own swamp rock fare at the album's outset. 

Polk Salad Annie was, of course, made famous by Elvis's version. This is the original. Elvis even used the same spoken intro and mid song interjections - " a mean vicious woman...." and so on. For years I only knew and loved Elvis's version. A pity, because this is the business. By the end of this album I am really missing that early swamp fever of is first half. It is a shame it sort of "sold out", just a little, as it progressed. It is still a highly listenable album all the same. 

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