There’s some great productions here and there on the above album but one thing I don’t really get into is his voice and the lack of humor in the lyrics. The productions have a sly humor here and there but the lyrics don’t really. I imagine he hasn’t set out to make an album with much humor in the lyrics though…reminds me of the Sage Francis stuff.
If you haven’t got Edan’s classic “Beauty & The Beat” you need to get it. It’s the ultimate fusion of Hip Hop & 60s/70s pyschadelic rock/funk. Edan brings everything to the table too…he does the raps, the cuts, the beats and the scratches.
I’ve been blasting the reissue of Jim Ford’s classic Harlan County. Sly Stone said Jim Ford was the baddest white man on the planet hahaha
Listen to snippets if you like on the link below and have a ready about this gem below too…
http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/products/JimFord-HarlanCounty-LightInTheAttic-77287.html
ABOUT THIS ITEM
"Another absolute gem of a reissue from Light In The Attic.
Album recorded at the legendary Wally Heider Los Angeles studios and features heavy session players Dr. John, Jim Keltner (John Lennon), and James Burton (Elvis Presley).
Release sports 32 page CD booklet and 180-gram wax, lovingly re-mastered from the original master tapes and a deluxe Stoughton “Tip-On” old school sleeve with faithfully reproduced original artwork.
What happens when a musically minded country boy from rural Kentucky heads to the Golden State and makes an album of blue-eyed soul with Dr. John, Jim Keltner (John Lennon), and James Burton (Elvis Presley) as his back-up band? Well, if the stars were aligned, singer songwriter Jim Ford would’ve had a major hit on his hands. As it was, ‘Harlan County’, released in 1969 on the minor label Sundown Records, simply fell through the cracks between monster selling titles by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Despite being allied with some of the biggest names in the business and a deft musical touch - Ford wrote songs for Bobby Womack (“Harry Hippie”), Aretha Franklin, P.J. Proby, The Temptations, and even appeared on Sly & the Family Stone’s ‘There’s a Riot Goin’ On’ - Ford never struck gold as a solo artist and eventually left the often cutthroat music business for a quieter life at the turn of the 1980’s.
“Jimmy Ford is the baddest white man on the planet,” said Sly Stone of Harlan County’s main man, and listening to the album today who’s to argue? Needless to say, Light In The Attic Records are honored to re-release these ten emotive country-soul songs on CD and LP with Ford’s original cover artwork, beautifully re-mastered audio, extensive liner notes by Kurt Wolff (The Rough Guide to Country Music), and rare photos, all presented with an adult portion of love. Fans of Charlie Rich, Tony Joe White, Lee Hazlewood, and Bobby Charles, please take note. ‘Harlan County’ is a revelation to deep music heads and for the previously converted, an opportunity to revisit one of the California studio scene’s crowning glories. To quote the title of Wolff’s booklet essay, “Jim Ford’s Music Will Kick Your Ass And Blow Your Mind.”
Armed with a powerful whiskey fueled voice, down home rhythms, tight horn section, and occasional spectral orchestration from Gene Page (The Righteous Brothers, Barry White, Marvin Gaye), Harlan County is ripe for reappraisal. And though Ford is unfortunately no longer with us - he passed away in 2007 - his musical legacy lives on. With fans and friends including Brinsley Schwarz leader Nick Lowe and actor Marlon Brando it’s safe to say that Jim Ford was the real deal. So head over to your local brick and mortar record shop, hit the liquor store for a bottle or two, and turn up the stereo. Take a country-funk trip to Harlan County. It’s cheaper than a flight and will take you right where you need to be."
TRACK LISTING
- Harlan County
- I’m Gonna Make Her Love Me
- Changin’ Colors
- Dr. Handy’s Dandy Candy
- Love On My Brain
- Long Road Ahead
- Under Construction
- Workin’ My Way To L.A.
- Spoonful
- To Make My Life Beautiful
