The Oxford American Southern Sampler 1999

A big THANK YOU to Whit and Martha for helping to make this post possible.

I'm getting close to running out of things to say in general about the CDs that accompany the Oxford American's annual music issues. Regular readers of the magazine and fans of Southern musicians know how good these comps usually are. Even in cases where relatively well-known songs are included in the mix, these performances often regain their freshness when placed in the new context that these collections present. Best of all, the CDs always feature a few cuts by obscure artists with which the most eclectic record collectors might not be familiar. Plenty of like-minded folks have told me about how they got into particular singers and bands because they first became exposed to them through listening to these Southern Samplers. I, too, have often been the beneficiary of such musical introductions. That's precisely what good compilations are supposed to do.

BEAU JOCQUE

In typical fashion, the 1999 CD includes a wide variety of Southern musical styles. Blues and its many facets are superbly represented by Lead Belly's a cappella equal rights manifesto "Nobody Better Than Us," Bobby "Blue" Bland's unparalleled "Turn on Your Love Light" (which confirms that no cover version even comes close to touching the original), and Geeshie (aka Geechie) Wiley's foreboding "Last Kind Words Blues." I might as well include the Red Tops' "Swanee River Rock" as well as Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm's "Matchbox" (aka "I'm Gonna Forget About You Baby") as long as I'm talking about blues, but nitpickers might argue that such tracks are better classified as early rock 'n' roll or 1950s R&B. While I'm admittedly hard on most white blues interpreters, Lou Ann Barton does a fine job on the potent "Shake Your Hips." It's funny how time can change everything. Most Mississippians probably didn't take too kindly to Bob Dylan's "Oxford Town" when it first appeared on Freewheelin' in 1963. And yet here it appeared on a CD included with an issue of "The Southern Magazine of Good Writing" some 36 years later. I won't deny that Alex Chilton possesses legitimate Southern roots by virtue of his Memphis heritage, but he tries just a little too hard to sound soulful on "Make a Little Love." You're better off sticking with an example of genuine soul such as fellow Memphisonian Isaac Hayes's oft-sampled "Do Your Own Thing." That's not to suggest that white people can never be successful with the genre, as English chanteuse Dusty Springfield proves on "Breakfast in Bed" (which also goes to show that there is a lot more to Dusty in Memphis than just "Son of a Preacher Man"). One can make the same argument with "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" by psychedelic honky tonkers the Flying Burrito Brothers. Is this country, soul, or both? However one might classify this take on the Chips Moman-Dan Penn tune, it certainly compares favorably with Aretha Franklin's better-known version. One can't discuss soul without considering its forebear, gospel, which is perfectly exemplified by Dorothy Love Coatses's outstanding "Ninety-Nine and a Half." This is not the same song as Wilson Pickett's like-titled but decidedly secular hit record from 1966, but some writers have identified it as a possible inspiration. Those with a liking for straight-ahead country will probably enjoy Billy Joe Shaver's guitar-heavy "Georgian on a Fast Train," although I can't similarly endorse June Carter Cash's interpretation of "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore." The Man in Black's better half was clearly near the end of her rope when this song was recorded, and it's painful to listen to her almost-shot vocals in spite of the sympathetic instrumentation. Although I have a preference for the vintage stuff, the more recent Francophone music from Louisiana presented here - Beau Jocque's "Don't Tell Your Mama, Don't Tell Your Papa" and D.L. Menard's "The Back Door" - comes off fairly well. The Appalachia-meets-classical-music piece "Chief Sitting in the Rain" by Mark O'Connor, Yo-Yo Ma, and Edgar Meyer is pleasant enough but probably best enjoyed by those especially partial to artists endorsed by PBS and NPR. Despite being from completely different parts of the country, Townes Van Zandt (Texas) and John Prine (suburban Chicago) occupy a similar space somewhere between folk and country. "Ain't Leavin' Your Love" and "Sins of Memphisto" don't necessarily underwhelm me, but I like both singers' earlier material a whole lot better. How 'bout some jazz? Dixieland simply doesn't get much better than Jelly Roll Morton's "Doctor Jazz." Nina Simone really deserves her own category since she's not a musician who is easy to pigeonhole, but I guess I'll have to stick the jazz label on her to keep things simple. The bluesy "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl" deserves its reputation as one of her classic performances and just might be my favorite track on this CD. I can't say that I have same enthusiasm for the tracks by newer artists who may have been viewed as up-and-comers in 1999. "Locomotive" by Terry Binion is alright in a Lilith Fair female singer-songwriter sort of way, but I find Jason Morphew's "Badass with a Heart of Gold" with it's lame electronic arrangements to be downright annoying. Laurel and Hardy chip in with "Shine on Harvest Moon," which was featured in their movie The Flying Dueces from 1939. Since I don't own the issue of the Oxford American that corresponds with this sampler, I'm not sure why this song was included, but I suppose it has some novelty value. At any rate, I like it much more than Jerry Lee Lewis's schmaltzy interpretation of "Somewhere over the Rainbow," best described as "The Killer" doing filler.

THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
CHRIS ETHRIDGE, CHRIS HILLMAN, SNEAKY PETE
KLEINOW, MICHAEL CLARKE, & GRAM PARSONS

1. Nobody Better Than Us - Lead Belly
2. Oxford Town - Bob Dylan
3. Make a Little Love - Alex Chilton
4. Don't Tell Your Mama, Don't Tell Your Papa - Beau Jocque
5. Shake Your Hips - Lou Ann Barton
6. Georgia on a Fast Train - Billy Joe Shaver
7. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man - The Flying Burrito Brothers
8. Breakfast in Bed - Dusty Springfield
9. Turn on Your Love Light - Bobby "Blue" Bland
10. Chief Sitting in the Rain - Mark O'Connor, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer
11. Last Kind Words Blues - Geeshie Wiley
12. Ain't Leavin' Your Love - Townes Van Zandt
13. Swanee River Rock - Red Tops
14. Matchbox - Ike Turner
15. Doctor Jazz - Jelly Roll Morton
16. The Back Door - D.L. Menard
17. Sins of Memphisto - John Prine
18. Ninety-Nine and a Half - Dorothy Love Coates
19. Locomotive - Terry Binion
20. I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl - Nina Simone
21. Do Your Own Thing - Isaac Hayes
22. The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore - June Carter Cash
23. Badass with a Heart of Gold - Jason Morphew
24. Shine on Harvest Moon - Laurel and Hardy
25. Somewhere over the Rainbow - Jerry Lee Lewis

BOBBY "BLUE" BLAND WORKING UP A SWEAT