Tony Joe White – The Train I’m On (1972)

This is a welcome CD re-release of Tony Joe White's 1972 album "The Train I'm On." The opener "I've Got a Thing About You Baby" bounces joyfully with the anticipation of a new romance. "If I Ever Saw a Good Thing" boogies with zest, "They say that one time in your life you find the one who'll stand beside you no matter where you'll go." "Beouf River Road" has lively percussion including a Jew's harp that throbs like a swamp frog. Last year, Anne McCue's version of "As the Crow Flies" from her album Koala Motel was my #2 favorite song of the entire year. Here, Tony Joe White's original is acoustic, but has the urgency that McCue so successfully inhabits on her electrified version. White covers and Eddie Hinton/Donnie Fritts' song, "300 Pounds of Hongry," with some stinging electric lead sizzle. On "The Migrant" White's hushed vocals ache about a migrant worker looking for a job. "In the town of Tipton, Georgia on a hot & dusty day, you could see the heat coming off the ground; Up the street a man came running, stumbling on his way & he shouted that the gospel singer was coming to our town," White sings on the lovely ballad "The Gospel Singer." "The Train I'm On" was prime Tony Joe White and still wears well !!!

Please note that this is an old but good rip, made with an old version of EAC, and coming from my archives on external hard disc.

Tracklist:

01. I've Got A Thing About You Baby
02. The Family
03. If I Ever Saw A Good Thing
04. Beouf River Road
05. The Train I'm On
06. Even Trolls Love Rock And Roll
07. As The Crow Flies
08. Take Time To Love
09. 300 Pounds of Hongry
10. The Migrant
11. Sidewalk Hobo
12. The Gospel Singer

Produced by Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd

Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound, Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Sound Quality: 8