Live At The Basement

After 40 some years of delivering skewed, greasy, swamp-soaked Louisiana pop to the world, it's amazing that more people don't know about Tony Joe White beyond his "Polk Salad Annie" hit from 1969, which bubbles up from time to time on the oldies stations and always sounds great. He's recorded plenty (some 21 albums), but White continues to fly well beneath the commercial radar. This live set was recorded in 2002 at the Basement in Sydney, Australia and is essentially the soundtrack to the television show of the performance that originally aired a year later in 2003. It's a fun show, featuring White's trademark funky guitar playing accompanied by drummer Marc "Boom Boom" Cohen, although it has to be said that White's voice isn't quite what it was in the '60s, but that's probably to be expected. It's interesting to compare this performance with 1980s Live from Austin, TX, which was a wilder, woollier, and more satisfying outing. Still, as they say, any Tony Joe White sure beats not having any Tony Joe White at all. ~ Steve Leggett|