"Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings" by TONY JOE WHITE – Featuring His First Three Studio Albums - "Black And White" and "…Continued" from June and October 1969 plus "Tony Joe" from July 1970 - All on Monument Records in Stereo. Extras Include Non-Album Singles, Album Outtakes and Previously Unreleased Live Material (on Disc 4) Recorded at The Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970 - Guest Cozy Powell on Drums (September 2006 USA Rhino Handmade 4CD Flip-Lid Box Set with Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves – Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Funky Fingers..."

Born in 1943 Louisiana as the seventh son (literally) in the White Family and reared on a weekly diet of Gospel and Church music – one fateful day Daddy White brought home a Lightnin' Hopkins album and the young Tony Joe was solid gone. 

Cut to the Union Chapel in Islington, London in 2014 (me and the missus present) and that young boy now walks on stage as a man with an electric guitar and a voice that rattles a church to its core as TJW simply says - "Evening Y'all!" Minutes later as he launches into his one-man Soul Francisco vibe – his loud boogie feels like the beginning of J.J. Cale morphing into a one-man ZZ Top. The effect as you can imagine is quite awesome… But then, amongst certain circles (especially within the industry) – Tony Joe White has always been a little bit special in the Mojo stakes. 

This fantastic September 2006 US 4CD Brick Block set from those fab dudes and dudettes over at Rhino Records offers up the first part of his career on Monument Records from 1968 to 1970 before he went for broke with Warner Brothers in 1971. If you find your neck jerking throughout in a Creedence Clearwater Revival meets J.J. Cale manner - then welcome to the vibe of Tony Joe White. To the swamp-mess details…

"Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings" by TONY JOE WHITE was put out Stateside in September 2006 by Rhino Handmade on RHM2 7731 (Barcode 603497773121). Across 4 CDs and 83 tracks - it offers three full albums, the A&Bs of 10 x US 7" 45-singles (many non-album) and a whopping 41 Previously Unreleased. There are a lot of details to get through - so here are the dangerously well endowed Sheriff's Daughters and Dusty Marshmallows…

Disc 1 (75:37 minutes):
1. Willie And Laura Mae Jones [Side 1]
2. Soul Francisco
3. Aspen Colorado
4. Whompt Out On You
5. Don't Steal My Love
6. Pork Salad Annie
7. Who's Making Love [Side 2]
8. Scratch My Back
9. Little Green Apples
10. Wichita Lineman
11. The Look Of Love
Tracks 1 to 11 are his debut album "Black And White" released June 1969 in the USA on Monument Records SLP 18114 (Stereo Only) and June 1969 UK on Monument LMO 5027 (Mono) and SMO 5027 (Stereo) – Stereo Mix Used. Produced by Billy Swan. The LP first charted in the USA 26 July 1969, rose to a height of No. 51 with a 16-week chart run. In March 2021 and mastered by revered Sound Engineer KEVIN GRAY - "Black And White" by TONY JOE WHITE was reissued as a Limited Edition US-Pressed VINYL LP (of 1,000) on Analogue Productions AAPP 129 (Barcode 753088129315) - mastered from original tapes onto 180 Grams Audiophile Vinyl and featuring inserts plus a new interview with Original Producer BILLY SWAN. 

12. Willie And Laura Mae Jones (Alternate Version)
13. I Protest
14. A Man Can Only Stand Just So Much Pain (13 and 14 are the A&B-sides of a May 1968 US 7" single on Monument 45-1070)
15. Toil & Trouble (Early Version)
16. Georgia Pines (A-side of his March 1967 debut USA 7" single for Monument on Monument 45-1003, Produced by Ray Stevens)
17. It's Not What You Got
18. Prison Song
19. Hung up On You
20. Ten More Miles To Louisiana (B-side to "Georgia Pines", see 16)
21. Let The Party Roll On
22. Watching The Trains Go By (Alternate Version)
23. Georgia Pines (Alternate Version)
24. Baby Please Don't Go
Tracks 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24 are Previously Unreleased; Track 24 is the Big Joe Williams song made famous by Van Morrison's Them in the Sixties

Disc 2 (78:30 minutes):
1. Elements And Things [Side 1]
2. Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night Of The Mossacin)
3. Woodpecker
4. Rainy Night In Georgia
5. For Le Ann
6. Old Man Willis [Side 2]
7. Woman With Soul
8. I Want You
9. I Thought I Knew You Well
10. The Migrant
Tracks 1 to 9 are his 2nd LP "…Continued" – released October 1969 in the USA on Monument SLP-18133 (Stereo) and February 1970 in the UK on Monument LMO 5035 (Mono) and SMO 5035 (Stereo) – Stereo Mix Used

11. Watching The Trains Go By (Single Version)
12. Old Man Willis (Single Version) (Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of a February 1968 USA 7" single on Monument 45-1053)
13. Funky Fingers
14. Soul Britches
15. Dusty Marshmallow
16. Toil & Trouble
17. What Does It Take
18. This Guy's In Love With You
19. Woodpecker (Alternate Version)
20. Laying Out All Night
21. I Want Your Sweet Love
22. Keep A Movin' Train
Tracks 13 to 22 inclusive are Previously Unreleased

Disc 3 (73:30 minutes)
1. Stud Spider [Side 1]
2. High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parrish
3. Widow Wimberly
4. Conjure Woman
5. Save Your Sugar For Me
6. Hard To Handle [Side 2]
7. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)
8. My Friend
9. Stockholm Blues
10. Boom Boom
Tracks 1 to 10 are his 3rd album "Tony Joe" - released July 1970 in the USA on Monument SLP-18142 in Stereo and August 1970 in the UK on Monument SMO 5043 in Stereo

11. Groupy Girl (B-side of the February 1970 USA 7" single "High Sheriff Of Calhoun County" on Monument MN-45-1193)
12. Prisoner
13. Do You Want My Love
14. Gospel Singer
15. I Hate To See You Cry
16. Dusty Marshmallow
17. I Can't Stand It
18. Mississippi River
Tracks 12 to 18 are all Previously Unreleased

Disc 4 (76:30 minutes):
1. Mississippi Delta
2. Chain Of Fools
3. Woodpecker
4. The Ballad Of Hollis Brown
5. Blue Monday
6. Tobacco Road/Dead End Street
7. Caress Me Babe?
8. Dusty Marshmallow
9. Just Look At You
10. Skinny Legs And All
Tracks 1 to 10 recorded at Barclay Studios March 1969 – all Previously Unreleased

11. Boom Boom (Live)
12. Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night Of The Mossacin) (Live)
13. I Want You (Live)
14. Groupy Girl (Live)
15. Stud Spider (Live)
16. Pork Salad Annie (Live)
17. Save Your Sugar For Me (Live)
Tracks 11 to 17 recorded live at the Isle of Wight Festival 28 August 1970 - guest COZY POWELL on Drums

TONY JOE WHITE US Singles (UK follows below):

This Box set will allow fans to sequence all of the following American singles:

1. Georgia Pines b/w Ten More Miles To Louisiana (March 1967, Monument 45-1003 - Produced by RAY STEVENS - recorded October 1966)

2. Watching The Trains Go By b/w Old Man Willis (February 1968, Monument 45-1053)

3. I Protest b/w A Man Can Only Stand Just So Much Pain (May 1968, Monument 45-1070)

4. Soul Francisco b/w Whompt Out On You (August 1968, Monument MN 45-1086)

5. Pork Salad Annie b/w Aspen Colorado (October 1968, Monument MN45-1104)

6. Willie And Laura Mae Jones b/w Scratch My Back (27 June 1969 UK 45-Single on Monument MON 1036 in Stereo)

7. Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night Of The Mossacin) b/w The Migrant (October 1969, Monument MN45-1169)

8. High Sheriff Of Calhoun County b/w Groupy Girl (February 1970, Monument MN 45-1193)

9. Save Your Sugar For Me b/w My Friend (May 1970, Monument MN45-1206)

10. Old Man Willis b/w Scratch My Back (October 1970, Monument MN45-1227)

TONY JOE WHITE UK 45-Singles Discography for Monument Records:

1. Soul Francisco b/w Whompt Out On You (September 1968, Monument MON 1024)

2. Pork Salad Annie b/w Aspen Colorado (February 1969, Monument MON 1031)

3. Willie And Laura Mae Jones b/w Scratch My Back (June 1969, Monument MON 1036)

4. Roosevelt And Ira Lee b/w The Migrant (October 1969, Monument MON 1040)

5. Groupy Girl b/w High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parish (June 1970, Monument MON 1043)

6. A Night In The Life Of A Swamp Fox b/w The Daddy (June 1971, Warners Brothers WB 6129)

Compiled by BILL INGLOT and MASON WILLIAMS with Tape Research and Mastering done by BILL INGLOT and DAN HERSCH – the mini box set features a flip-back lid with 4 repro sleeves and a booklet contained within. The quality of the oversized card sleeves is superb with most of the rear liner notes and credits perfectly readable (even on the hard-to-read rear sleeve of the "Tony Joe" album). The sepia-feel 36-page booklet is numbered on the rear page to 5000 and features detailed liner notes by BEN EDMONDS and interviews with Tony Joe White, Friend and Musical Advisor Bob Beckham and Producer Billy Swan. Interspersed between the dense texts are full-page shots of several Monument 7" singles (some demos) and comprehensive reissue details at the rear. The remasters are fantastic – bringing out that deeply funky groove and far better than what I had before. 

His debut LP "Black And White" has huge fan-craves like "Soul Francisco" ("...some of those children got something to say…") and the equally cool "Pork Salad Annie". The racist-realistic "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" proved just too gritty for US radio. Side 1 gems too include the rarely heard "Don't Steal My Love" - a fantastic groover. After the hammerblow of originality and sheer TJW personality that hits you on Side 1 of the "Black And White" LP - Side 2 sounds something like another planet - Glen Campbell-light - and not in a good way. Having clearly run out of originals - Side 2 is almost all cover versions. The tail end of these is the undoing for me – saccharine versions of "Little Green Apples" and "The Look Of Love" where you can feel his cool wincing. 

Far better is his "right there!" take on Slim Harpo's "Scratch My Back" and amongst the previously unreleased are great discoveries like "Prison Song" ("...breaking up rocks in the hot, hot sun…"). It is not all good. The Mickey Newbury cover "A Man Can Only Stand Just So Much Pain" is a poppy brass-jabber that is awful and the early 45 "Georgia Pines" and its B-side sound like a Monkees-wannabe looking to jump on their bandwagon. The alternate "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" has great brass jabs and a spoken go-for-it pep-talk from Swan that sets up the take. An early take with wild guitar for "Toil And Trouble" is fabulous stuff - gruff and funking (be glad of what you got) and a have-at-it go at "Baby Please Don't Go" that sounds like Them on speed. I must also reiterate how good this Remaster of "Black And White" sounds - no wonder renowned Remaster Engineer KEVIN GRAY did an Audiophile LP version for Analogue Productions in 2021. 

Produced by Billy Swan (who would later have huge hits of his own on Monument Records in the mid Seventies) – the "…Continued" album did what it said on the tin – more Swamp Music tales of strange families ("Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night of The Mossacin)", leery moonshiners ("Old Man Willis", a great guitar-and-brass groover) and perplexing ladies ("I Thought I Knew You Well"). Other nuggets include "I Want You" - a fantastic groove with chugging guitar and Mike Utley putting in some funky organ. But it's strange now from the distance of 2025 to think that two of his most famous songs "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" and "Rainy Night In Georgia" never made it onto a US 45-single - "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" came out in the UK. Both Brook Benton and Eddie Floyd did fabulously soulful versions of "Rainy Night In Georgia" in 1970 - while Randy Crawford would make it a worldwide hit in 1981 (and probably paid a few TJW bills in the meantime). Fans of that groove are gonna die for the double-whammy of "Funky Fingers" and "Soul Britches" amongst the previously unreleased tunes – cool groovers with fabulous brass and organ backing. And as they play you can just see nattily dressed go-go dancers giving it some serious hip swivelling in some hip 6t's nightclub. Yeah baby…

Amongst its ten tracks the 3rd album "Tony Joe" harbours six originals and four superbly chosen covers – Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", Jr. Walker & The All Stars "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)", John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" and a new one from Donnie Fritts and Dewey Oldham called "My Friend". Like Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham and Eddie Hinton - Alabama-born white soul boy Donnie Fritts has been an underground hero for over 40 years – he would in fact record his own version of "My Friend" on the "Prone To Lean" album on Atlantic Records in 1974.

For fans Disc 4 is a total treat – the studio tracks are basically him playing funky solo renditions of songs he likes in his own inimitable way – Bobby Gentry’s "Mississippi Delta", Don Covay's "Chain Of Fools", a jagged "Ballad Of Hollis Brown" by Dylan and Joe Tex's "Skinny Legs And All". But best for me are the TJW originals called "Blue Monday" and "Caress Me Babe?" where he gets closest to his slyly sexy Lightnin' Hopkins roots. The 1970 "Isle Of Wight" stuff is live and rough - but you can hear the crowd grooving to his passionate Swamp Funk on "I Want You" where TJW goes at it with bravado. And with his Fogerty growls and Harmonica on "Stud Spider" - he sounds like a funked-up Dylan determined to shock his audience.

I've long been of the reasoning that J.J. Cale nicked his sound from Tony Joe White, Clapton nicked it from J.J. Cale and Mark Knopfler nicked it from all three for his Dire Straits debut. Tina Turner would take TJW's rock-groovy "Steamy Windows" and make another sexy worldwide hit too. Whatever way you look at it – this is a fabulous (if not illusive) box set. And while Rhino Handmade did not do the same for his fabulous Warners Brothers albums that quickly followed his termination with Monument Records - the Rhino-associated Real Gone Music did just that in February 2015 with their "The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings" 2CD set. It includes the Albums "Tony Joe White" (1971), "The Train I'm On" (1972), "Homemade Ice Cream" (1973), Single Sides and More (see my separate review).

In the meantime "Swamp Music" is the very best of starting points and a cool way to sample why so many followed/half-inched Tony Joe White's Crocodile shoes. Swamp Rock, Americana, Rock-Funk - Creedence meets J.J. Cale via Clapton and early Dire Straits - tis all here brother...