Swamp Dogg - The White Man Made Me Do It

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 22 / 2 / 2015

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Review

Alive Naturalsound Records are not the first label to reissue part of Swamp Dogg’s back catalogue but they’ve really achieved something here; after issuing a handful of the best albums bearing the Swamp Dogg name and also releasing albums that Swamp Dogg wrote and produced for other artists, Alive have now released an album featuring fourteen recently recorded songs from this master of soul music. Jerry Williams Jnr. took on the alter ego of Swamp Dogg in 1970. Already an established writer, producer and musician, Williams was one of those hard working soul brothers whose work should have received many more accolades than it did at the time. Williams covered all bases. This writer still reaches for the talcum powder every time I hear ‘If I Ask You’. He can still bring a lump to my throat with almost any of the cheating/love lost songs that he wrote and produced for his roster of artists, and he could also capture the essence of the blues. Check out his production on Lightnin’ Slim’s ‘High & Low Down’ for evidence of that (reissued as part of the Alive/Swamp Dogg program). In creating Swamp Dogg Jerry Williams found an outlet for the more controversial side of his writing and he also developed a, while not totally unique, certainly exciting mix of funk, soul and rock with bayou tendencies. Williams also developed a style of writing that injected a little humour while tackling serious issues of the day. Williams’s first album under his Swamp Dogg persona was ‘Total Destruction to Your Mind’, which is still considered by many to be Swamp Dogg’s finest moment, although with the many fine albums that have been released under that name through the years it’s a bold claim. While some of the albums have been patchy, Swamp Dogg never lost his original vision and without exception there were always one of two solid soul gems that shone out from every album. In some ways ‘The White Man Made Me Do It’ is a natural continuation of the music Swamp Dogg created on ‘Total Destruction…’ and his other albums from that period. There’s even a nod to the sleeve of ‘Rat On!’ on the new album cover, and mentioning the sleeve it has to be said that at 72 Jerry Williams is looking sharper and in better shape than most of us could ever hope for at that age. Musically it’s like nothing’s changed. That’s not to say the songs here sound dated. It is testament to the fact that Williams has always produced timeless music. Of the fourteen songs, Williams has a writing credit on eleven, and as we have come to expect he once again covers all aspects of soul music. The sassy brass fuelled ‘If That Ain’t the Blues Nothing Is’ is a steaming slice of southern soul, and proves that Williams has lost little, if any, of the controlled power in his vocals. The seven-minute opening title track is a funk -driven rush through the history of Black America with customary Swamp Dogg frankness and wit. The rap that the song evolves into is both unexpected and convincing. At 72, Swamp Dogg is making some of the most important music of his career as this song proves. ‘Prejudice is Alive and Well’ shows that he has lost none of his lyrical prowess nor abandoned his blues leanings, ‘Hey Renae’ blends a calypso twist with blistering horns, the summery groove that he brings to Sam Cooke’s ‘You Send Me’ confirms again that Williams still takes chances by not just covering a well-known song but by reconstructing it totally. ‘Let Me Be Wrong’ is another horn-laden blues song, complete with typical Swamp Dogg lyrical turns. ‘I’m So Happy’ is drenched with Michael Murphy’s warm organ contribution before the track takes a right turn into the funkiest gospel -influenced groove which makes it impossible to resist; even at six minutes the song ends all too soon. ‘What Lonesome Is’ is classic Swamp Dogg, a deep soul masterpiece; why Williams never achieved the fame of soul singers like Otis Redding is still a mystery. The tribute to Sly Stone, ‘Where Is Sly?’, raises the same question. For all his contributions to music what is Stone doing now and do we really want to know? Again, 72 years young and Swamp Dogg is still funking it up, yet he’s yet to be hailed as the superstar that Stone once was. Swamp Dogg thanked Stone in an earlier cut, the strange ‘If It Hadn’t Been For Sly’. Surely Williams, never one to hold back on his opinions, must realise that, given Stone’s current apparent predicament it’s Swamp Dogg who should be receiving the accolades now. Coupled with ‘The White Man Made Me Do It’ is a ten track album titled ‘Best Of Swamp Dogg’s Soul & Blues Collection’ featuring tracks from some of the albums Alive Naturalsound have already released, the danger here is that if you haven’t already bought the albums from which these tracks are compiled then you’re very likely to have to get that credit card out after listening to this taster. Sandra Phillips ‘Rescue Me’ (as it’s titled on this disc but I’ve always known it as ‘Rescue Song’), Irma Thomas’ ‘In Between Tears’ and Doris Duke’s ‘To The Other Woman (I’m The Other Woman)’ are prime examples of southern soul and brilliant introductions to the albums that they are pulled from which are currently available on Alive Naturalsound and which should already be part of any self respecting soul fan’s collection. Add to those a handful of Swamp Dogg tracks; ‘Fuck the Bomb, Stop the Drugs’ which was recorded in 1995, the hard to find ‘My Life Ain’t Nothing But A Blues Song’ and ‘Synthetic World’ from the ‘Total Destruction…’ album and samples of tracks from the recent reissued Z Z Hill, Charlie Whitehead, Lightnin’ Slim and Wolfman albums and you have a bonus CD that is worth the price of the 2 CD package alone. Alive have done a fantastic job in releasing the first new Swamp Dogg material for years, the fact that it ranks up there with the man’s best work is all down to him of course. The album is also released as a limited edition vinyl version only available from Alive’s mail order site at www.bompstore.com along with a CD/vinyl bundle. You pay your money and you take your choice but don’t let this soul innovator slip away from us again. He’s still got plenty to say and a unique and fascinating way of saying it.

Track Listing:-

1 The White Man Made Me Do It
2 Lying Lying Lying Woman
3 Hey Renae
4 You Send Me
5 Let Me Be Wrong
6 Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash
7 I'm So Happy
8 That's What Lonesome Is
9 Yeah Yeah Yeah
10 Can Anybody Tell Me Where Is Sly
11 Smokey Joe's Cafe
12 Light a Candle Ring a Bell
13 Prejudice Is Alive and Well
14 If That Aint the Blues... Nothing Is

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/SwampDogg

Label Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/AliveNaturals
http://www.alive-records.com/
https://twitter.com/AliveRecords
https://instagram.com/alivenaturalsoun
https://www.youtube.com/user/JIMalive1