I don’t think there’s a person alive who’s ever heard Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie” and didn’t immediately make it a guilty pleasure. Back when it came out 2 score plus years ago, White was considered to be Elvis Presley’s heir apparent, with obvious reasons; he had a sorghum thick voice, a good old boy swagger and looks that rivaled the King. Time changes things…
But White has carried on, and his 19th studio album is a reminder of what attracted people to White in the first place, and what is wrong with most of today’s country and folk singers. These nine songs have White sounding like he just stepped back on to your porch after a boat ride in the swamp; his drawl comes from a lifetime of eating boiled peanuts as he works his hands on the red clay of bluesy pieces like “Hoochie Woman” and the greasy “Tell Me A Swamp Story.” He and his band sound like they spent the week at the VFW as the murky B3 hovers over the delta on “Right Back in the Fire” and the Strat hangs over the beer gut as the band boogies on “Rain Crow.” White still knows how to tell a story, and he sounds forebodingly avuncular as he gives hints of Elvis’ curled lip on “the Bad Wind” and teams up with Billy Bob Thornton to compose the “Uh-huh”ing “The Middle of Nowhere. There is no polish on this disc; it’s all spit and wipe, the way it’s supposed to be.