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Elly Roberts reviews
The Very Best Of J.D.Souther
Salvo
- October 2007
- Rating: 8/10
Fans of the Eagles will instantly recognise the name J.D. Souther.
Hes written some of their biggest hits Best Of My Love, Victim Of Love,Heartache Tonight and New Kid In Town. Their recent single How Longfrom album Long Road Out Of Eden was written by him way back in 1972. Hes alsowritten for Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt.
Southers country rock credentials are undisputable, and its unfathomablewhy he never took off like his illustrious stablemates, because hes writtensome excellent songs. They go back to the ’60s influenced by Roy Orbison, beforehe teamed up with future Eagle Glenn Frey, and Jackson Brown. Souther and Freyformed short-lived Longbranch Pennywhistle, a folk duo.
Later he teamed up with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay for Souther Hillman Furay Band recording two albums. A bigger audience came when contributing tothe Eagles, who were clearly comfortable with his material, even to this day.
Bordertown shows his individual songwriting skills, with selections fromfour albums and a couple by SHFB. An RnB/Country opening, White Wing showshe wasnt totally immersed in slick honeyed choruses. This lazy funky gem withdeft harmonica splashes shows another side to his country roots, it also highlightshis wonderful vocal lilt.
Its easy to see why the Eagles chose How Long as a comeback single, buthere its a tad earthier and more country than their rendition, and its a timelessclassic still. It also makes me wonder why his famous chums havent picked upon Fast One as its perfect Eagles vocal and instrumental territoryfusing a neat country swing and commercial edge.
Arguably, Jesus In ¾ Time is the jewel in the crown, a very, very statelyballad, again like something from an early Eagles album like On The Border.Going down a deeper country road, pedal steel-drenched Pretty Goodbyestwists and turns accompanied by gloriuous harmonies a la Beach Boys, whereaslightweight rocker title track Border Town sees Souther up the paceand edge, just a bit, like something from a Doobie Brothers back catalogue.
In a similar mode, Trouble In Paradise, is upbeat and very catchy, combiningjazzy interludes funky bass, flute and Doors-like organ – that juxtaposemagnificently to the overall thrust of the thumping drums and wiry gutar solos.A big fan of Roy Orbison, Souther does a marvelous tribute to his hero forYoure Only Lonely (a take on Only The Lonely) becoming one of thecollections main highlights, sounding more like Orbison than the man himself.
With the compilers choosing a stylish end, the haunting All I Want, withits haunting drums and organ, Souther lets us know he can handle a (beautiful)ballad like no other, and that includes Don Henley of, yes you guessed it, theEagles.
File under: Finger-licking good.
Weblink:myspace.com/jdsouthermusic
The full list of tracks included are :
1. White Wing
2. How Long
3. The Past One
4. Jesus In ¾ Time
5. Pretty Goodbyes
6. Border Town
7. Somebody Must Be Wrong
8. Trouble In Paradise
9. Faithless Love
10. Black Rose
11. If You Have Crying Eyes
12. Silver Blue
13. Youre Only Lonely
14. The Bars Burn Down
15. Say You Will
16. Go Ahead And Rain
17. Ill Take Care Of You
18. All I Want
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.