JOE TEX — Soul Country (review)

$JOE TEX — Soul Country album cover$ Album · 1968 · Pop/Art Song/Folk

4/5 · 2018-11-14
Matt

It was primarily the Southern Soul artists who were not shy in mixing up the two genres together being Soul and Country music with Memphis sitting so close to Nashville it was bound to happen. Many of the Southern greats have taken Country Soul on with Ray Charles who actually started in a Country Swing band being the most famous with his “Modern Sounds In Country And Western” as well as the underappreciated album “The Country Side Of Esther Philips” not even making a dent in the charts in 1965 apart from her previous 1962 single of “Release Me” which made it number two, three years prior. Solomon Burke, Clarence Carter, Bobby Womack, Tina Turner, Percy Sledge, Dobie Gray, Johnny Adams were some of the artists not to mention a couple of white guys writing songs being Dan Penn and Jim Ford but apart from Ray Charles, a bit of Clarence Carter and Dobie Gray’s single “Drift Away” when it came to the Country/Soul crossover predominately under the radar was where they went. Still Joe Tex in 1968 loved his Country music and he gave it a shot with actually what was pretty much current in the Country charts at that time with his release of “Soul Country” making it to 154th in the charts but the cloud did have a silver lining for him with his self written inclusion on the album “I’ll Never Do You Wrong” making it to 59 on mainstream and 26th on the R&B charts. It is a shame actually because although not in the same top class as Ray’s and Esther’s albums this one it is pretty close being full of some wonderful interpretations from Joe singing the current Country songs from this period.

Joe Tex’s own Soul composition “I’ll Never do you Wrong’ with its slow to mid tempo time kicks the album off with some great vocals and backing in this wonderful tune. The Country comes right in with Joe’s fabulous take of Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode To Billy Joe” concerning that Tallahatchie Bridge. One of Dan Penn’s songs co written with Chips Morman brings more Soul back into the album with a beautiful take for the ballad “ The Dark End Of The Street” followed by quite a nice version of Willie Nelson’s,” Funny How Time Slips Away”. Roger Miller get’s the Joe treatment next in a delightful bounce in the song for Roger’s 1965 single “Engine Engine Number 9” and then for the Lp’s flip it is the Henson Cargill hit “Skip A Rope” that comes first. That old Death Row song “Green Green Grass Of Home” written by Curly Putman which Tom Jones had the massive hit with has Joe taking it on with some great effect followed by another Curly Putman composition in the slow burner concerning a possessive husband in “Set Me Free”. Still there are two more songs that were huge Country hits to follow with Jimmie Webb’s “By The Time I Get to Phoenix” which Glen Campbell made his own and cringe or not it is Bobbie Goldboro’s “Honey” which also made it to number 1 in America, Canada, Ireland and Australia that finishes the album up and of course Joe delivers pathos plus in this one and you may be reaching for the hanky.

Joe sings “Honey I miss you” but you know I also miss all these great songs that I grew up hearing with this album bringing them all back and Joe Tex showing why Country Soul should of been a lot bigger.This album is one of the best of them with the two prior that I mentioned above and if you like either genre of music,grab it.