Uncovered

Performer: Tony Joe White
Artist: Eric Clapton; J.J. Cale; Michael McDonald; Mark Knopfler; Waylon Jennings
Engineer: Tony Joe White
Producer: Jody White
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler (vocals, guitar); J.J. Cale, Michael McDonald , Waylon Jennings. The King of Swamp Rock, Louisiana-born singer/guitarist Tony Joe White, released the 10-song UNCOVERED in 2006. Although less star-studded than 2004's THE HEROINES, the album finds White once again trading confidently in the thick, hazy, blues-tinged style that helped define the genre of swamp rock. White isn't quite as fiery here as he was in the days of "Polk Salad Annie" and "Willie and Laura Mae Jones," but his bayou drawl--which is just that much more, well, swampy--and his slow-burn guitar playing nicely evoke steamy Louisiana nights. They combine to create a musical gris-gris all Tony Joe's own. 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

Uncut (p.134) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "That voice, along with the gritty material and the redneck noir settings, make for an extended-release musical narcotic." Dirty Linen (p.88) - "[The] high-profile guests will hopefully help bring some attention to his brand of simmering blues." No Depression (p.124) - "White's lyrical vision remains as sharp as a cottonmouth's fang, and he can still pack more emotional wallop into a whisper than a lot of cowpunk pretenders can summon..."

Though never a huge commercial success, Louisiana-born singer-songwriter/guitarist Tony Joe White is revered amongst musicians and blues and rock aficionados alike as the King of Swamp Rock. White's songs were made famous by others in the late 1960s and early '70s (Dusty Springfield, for one, turned in a stellar reading of "Willie and Laura Mae Jones"), but his own thick, husky drawl and languid, rootsy guitar playing has made him something of musician's musician, and endeared him to the likes of Lucinda Williams, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie Raitt among many others.

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