The Shine (Swamp, 2010)
Tony Joe White
Reviewed by Brian Baker
On "The Shine," White's 19th studio album in his lengthy catalog, the 67-year-old singer/songwriter tends to concentrate on the right side of that slash. White's sensual mumble was more ominous in his younger days; his voice has the scuffed and sometimes thin patina of a weary roadhouse country/blues singer. The quality that carries "The Shine" is White's ace-in-the-hole from the very start; his compelling musical and lyrical songcraft.
"The Shine" is a relatively subdued affair, and those quieter passages (Paintings on the Mountain, Something to Soften the Blow) betray White's vocal vulnerabilities, but he fares better when he gets bluesier and slinkier (Ain't Doing Nobody No Good, Roll Train Roll). But as White so aptly notes in Tell Me Why, "It's all about the song, keepin' it simple/Gotta have passion, gotta have soul," and those are qualities that he has exhibited for the duration of his 40-plus year career, qualities that are in full evidence on "The Shine." Even if White's voice isn't quite what it was in his prime, his words still possess enough power and soul to win the day.
CDs by Tony Joe White
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