Swamp Woman

Jerry Williams Jr. reinvented himself in the late ‘60s as Swamp Dogg, releasing the landmark 1970 album Total Destruction to Your Mind; it introduced the world to a smart, funny artist who wrote poignant, profound songs about the world around him. The man himself considers this set to be that landmark album’s spiritual equal. Whether he’s singing about nuances of race and racism in the title track or on “Prejudice Is Alive and Well,” asking what happened to a soul music superstar on “Where Is Sly,” or working through Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me” and a few other covers, this is pure timeless Swamp Dogg–styled R&B, soul, and funk.

The 1970s were lost years for Irma Thomas in some respects. She was wholly out of the commercial mainstream and, sometimes, without a recording contract. Nor had she yet carved out her well-deserved niche as a torchbearer of the New Orleans vocal soul tradition. Instead, she was only able to grab some recording time and record releases here and there, usually on small labels. While this 19-song CD, A Woman's Viewpoint: The Essential 1970s Recordings, is probably about as good a compilation as can be assembled from this period, there's no getting around the realization that this is far from her best work on record.

2CD set best of the 6 albums he released on the Monument and Warner Brothers labels, incl Polk Salad Annie, Willie & Laura Mae Jones, Rainy Night in Georgia, Five Summers For Jimmy & more. 42 tracks. Tony Joe White was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but was first made popular by Brook Benton in 1970. He also wrote "Steamy Windows" and "Undercover Agent for the Blues", both hits for Tina Turner in 1989; those two songs came by way of Turner's producer at the time, Mark Knopfler, who was a friend of White. "Polk Salad Annie" was also recorded by Elvis Presley and Tom Jones.

“Not a lot of people talk about the true origins of bluegrass music, but it came from Black people. The banjo, the washtub, all that stuff started with African Americans. We were playing it before it even had a name.” - Swamp Dogg

“Not a lot of people talk about the true origins of bluegrass music, but it came from Black people. The banjo, the washtub, all that stuff started with African Americans. We were playing it before it even had a name.” - Swamp Dogg

Cadillac in the Swamp is a torrid, steaming album, powered by the gutsy, powerful songwriting and singing of harpist Anthony Thompson. Smokehouse reworks the deep, swampy groove of New Orleans and Delta blues, adding the electric energy of Chicago blues…

Unsurprisingly, Little Freddie King pays homage to his idol Freddie king throughout Swamp Boogie. Little Freddie King hasn't recorded an album since the mid-'70s, but Swamp Boogie illustrates that he didn't spend the ensuing two decades just sitting around. While he doesn't stray far from the original Freddie King blueprint, he does play with grace and a bit of personality. The album isn't necessarily energetic, but it has its moments, even if during those moments you wish that he would let loose just a little bit more.

Unsurprisingly, Little Freddie King pays homage to his idol Freddie king throughout Swamp Boogie. Little Freddie King hasn't recorded an album since the mid-'70s, but Swamp Boogie illustrates that he didn't spend the ensuing two decades just sitting around. While he doesn't stray far from the original Freddie King blueprint, he does play with grace and a bit of personality. The album isn't necessarily energetic, but it has its moments, even if during those moments you wish that he would let loose just a little bit more.