Swamp Dogg - Swamp Dogg

by Malcolm Carter

published: 23 / 2 / 2013

Malcolm Carter looks back on the career of funk/soul artist Swamp Dogg, the persona of eccentric black musician Swamp Dogg, whose first two early 1970's albums, 'Total Destruction To Your Mind' and 'Rat On!', have just been re-released

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1966, and to this pre-teen it was like a light had suddenly been switched on. Everything changed from dreary black and white to wonderful technicolour. Pirate radio stations were still transmitting those wonderful sounds. ‘Pet Sounds’, Revolver’, Blonde On Blonde’ and ‘A Quick One’ all saw the light of day and England won the World Cup. Young, impressionable and full of life, it would never get better than this. Every day there was something new to be discovered and the four albums mentioned above had a massive effect on me. On a regular visit to a friend he played me the new 45s he’d just bought. The Creation’s ‘Painter Man’ was the first, on the black and white Planet label if this fading memory serves me right. I’d never heard anything like it before and was immediately captivated by the strange sounds Eddie Phillips made with his guitar. The second 45 I heard that day was an American import, that fact alone enough to arouse my interest. Now at that point in my life soul music to me was Otis Redding, Percy Sledge and others in that vein. I’d never heard of Northern Soul. Maybe the phrase hadn’t even been coined then. All I know is that as soon as I heard the opening of ‘If You Ask Me (Because I Love You)’ I was overwhelmed with a feeling of…I still don’t know. My body wanted to move and possibly for the first time in my short life I understood why people put records on and danced, as that 7 inch piece of vinyl just made me feel so good, so alive. The song was written, sung and produced by Little Jerry Williams and now, over 45 years later, I still can’t sit still when I hear it. As was usual in those days we’d flip the single as soon as we’d heard the A-side, as B-sides could be just as good. ‘Yvonne’ was a ballad, in direct contrast to the A-side, and was a heartfelt, heart ripping performance by Williams. In those pre-internet days we all depended on the weekly music press for information and it wasn’t always forthcoming. Trying to find other records by Jerry Williams (or Little Jerry Williams or Jerry Williams Jr. as he was sometimes billed) wasn’t easy but through the years, especially my soul-boy years, his name kept cropping up time and time again. By the 1970s Williams had decided to create an alter-ego, Swamp Dogg, so any self-respecting soul-boy only had to look for those names on records to be sure that the music would be excellent. Irma Thomas, Sandra Phillips classic ‘Too Many People In One Bed’ album, Doris Duke, Z Z Hill, Freddie North, the list goes on. Although Williams never stood still musically, he could tackle funk, country and swamp blues and still leave his unique sound all over the recordings, there was a time when his deep soul sides were second to none. Constantly writing about the eternal triangle seemed to be his forte. Not only choosing to work with singers who could wring every bit of emotion out of every word he wrote, Williams was an excellent singer too. Ace Records have thankfully issued many of Williams solo recordings and his productions for other artistes over the years and they have all been accompanied by informative booklets telling the story of Jerry Williams/ Swamp Dogg in detail. They make for excellent reading for anyone interested in soul music; Williams is a genuine one-off - he is still making music, still outspoken and still worthy of your attention. While Williams is well known in soul circles he has never broken through to a wider audience like say Sly Stone did, a musician Williams is often compared to. Much of this may well be because of Williams' outspoken views and the fact that, at times, his humour, which is almost always displayed somehow in his albums, is lost on many. But be assured, for all his jokey album sleeves, titles and outrageous quotes Williams takes his music very seriously indeed. Alive Natural Sound Records has now issued two Swamp Dogg albums from the early 1970s. While the digipak housed CDs lack the booklets that Ace have afforded their Swamp Dogg releases it is so good to see these albums available again in any format; if they had been issued in clear plastic bags they’d still be welcome. The fact that Williams might now even get some well-deserved royalties from these reissues is an added bonus. ‘Total Destruction To Your Mind’, issued in 1970, was the first album to be issued under the Swamp Dogg name. Ace have already reissued the Charlie Whitehead/Raw Spitt album which is in many ways a companion piece to ‘Total Destruction…’. Those who have heard that record will know what to expect from the first Swamp Dogg album. The albums opens with the title track, a fine slab of funk/soul typical of the era but which doesn’t sound at all dated over four decades later. Swamp Dogg’s sweet, soulful vocals are just as suited to these up-tempo songs as they are to his deep soul sides. Then it’s straight into one of the Dogg’s social comment songs. ‘Synthetic World’ has one of Dogg’s trademark catchy melodies, embellished by organ and horns, and his emotive vocals are so believable. There are a handful of songs on the album that are co-writes with Gary U.S. Bonds. The first of these, ‘Dust Your Head Colour Red’, a call for unity, is given a deep-soul treatment and it’s impossible not to be moved by the sentiments of the song. While a cover of Joe South’s ‘Redneck’ is understandable - both musicians cover similar ground at times on their albums - one gets the impression that Dogg covered the song because of the lyrics rather than feeling that he could add anything to the song. Given his past accomplishments Swamp Dogg could have penned an original song with the same message. There’s another Joe South cover on ‘Total Destruction…’ ‘These Are Not My People’ is one of South’s best compositions, but although Dogg turns in an accomplished and soulful version it doesn’t really add much to the original. Its place could have been taken by another Dogg original; it’s not as though Dogg was short of his own songs. When there are original tracks as brilliant as the funky ‘If I Die Tomorrow (I’ve Lived Tonight)’ and ‘Sal-Faster’, the deep soul sounds of ‘I Was Born Blue’ and ‘Everything You’ll Ever Need’ and the heartbreaking ‘The Baby is Mine’ (covered by Joe Tex who very nearly claims the song,) the two Joe South covers let the album down slightly. I was one of the few who bought ‘Introspect’, the album those two South songs came from, in 1968 by the way, from my paper round money so, no, I’m not criticising South’s work. But it would have been more interesting to hear more Dogg originals like the bluesy closer, ‘Mama’s Baby, Daddy’s Maybe’. As an introduction to the eccentric world of Swamp Dogg though ‘Total Destruction To Your Mind’ is a fine place to start. ‘Rat On!’ quickly followed in 1971. This time Dogg presents us with ten songs, eight originals co-composed with either Gary U.S. Bonds or Troy Davis, and two covers which this time, are not only more inspired but even more surprising choices. Mickey Newbury’s ‘She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye’ from his ‘Looks Like Rain’ album is given one of Dogg’s most soulful vocal performances. It’s a cliché but with this horn-driven version Dogg has made the song his very own. It rips your heart out. The Bee Gees' ‘Got to Get a Message to You’ also gets the sensitive Dogg treatment. Robin Gibb’s quavering vocals are replaced by another fine, emotional performance from Dogg that again makes you reassess the original. This song is so well known and was the Bee Gees' unique sound wrapped up nicely in under four minutes, but this version is something else. While shades of the Gibb brothers can be still be heard in the chorus Dogg again adds so much of his own personality to the song. As for the originals the album once again opens with a funk/soul workout, ‘Do You Believe?’, Dogg’s questioning mind throwing out though-provoking lines, which is where the Sly Stone comparisons come in. Again, for such a product of its time it still sounds remarkably fresh. ‘Predicament #2’ is one of Dogg’s eternal triangle songs, Dogg is a master at this type of song, There are few that come close to capturing the reality of this situation as well as he can. One song he’s moving your feet, the next he’s moved you to tears, that’s the power of The Dogg. The political/social Dogg takes over on ‘Remember, I Said Tomorrow’. The never fulfilled promise of the end of war and equality for everyone is just as relevant today as it was when Dogg and Troy Davis wrote the song. Although Dogg slows it down for ‘God Bless America For What’ the message still comes across loud and strong. Despite his at times extreme comments, on this song Dogg shows that he can protest in a tender way and still get his view across. ‘I Kissed Your Face’ finds Dogg in ballad mode; the wistful melody carries you away while Dogg turns in yet another heart touching vocal performance. ‘That Ain’t My Wife’ another love triangle song, has also been recorded by Charlie Whitehead under the Raw Spitt banner, both versions are brilliant; there’s little to choose between the two and it all comes down to who you personally think is the better vocalist. I’ll stay on the fence. Reproducing the original album covers for these reissues is both good and bad. For those already touched by the genius that is Swamp Dogg we are more than happy to have legitimate versions of the albums available in any form once again. but to the casual buyer who has yet to enter the world of one of the music industries most original, eccentric yet talented musicians alternative covers, at least on the front, might have helped draw more people in. But at the end of the day it’s the music that counts and if any Dogg ever deserved his day then it’s Jerry Williams. The man is a genius.