Tony Joe White - The Real Thang (1980/2025) [Official Digital Download 24/44-48]

Originally released back in 1980, at a time when traditional country artists seemed to be struggling to understand where their sound would fit in with the newly polished production of the time, his eight-song collection The Real Thang was only released on vinyl and met with mixed reviews when it came out. Listening to it now, it's odd to think that the album's blend of White's signature swamp rock sound and smooth late 70s disco was so cruelly overlooked, because it feels totally in step with a lot of other things that were happening in country in the early 1980s.

45 years on and it fits perfectly on any playlist of whatever Kenny and Dolly were up to at the time, Glen Campbell's 80s weird country masterpiece Its The World Gone Crazy, Merle Haggard's 'That's the Way Love Goes' or Waylon Jennings' seminal Music Man.

It's Waylon who rides shotgun as The Real Thang is taken once more around the block with White’s estate, helmed by his son, Jody White, announcing a grand unearthing of the album with a deeper dive into what made the era so intriguing, kicking off with the release of the album's first previously unreleased bonus cut, 'Cowboy Singer' co-written with Waylon Jennings.

“The original album included 8 songs from this wildly experimental time in Tony Joe's career,” says Jody. “As I began to explore a re-release of this lost album, I discovered that TJW had written and recorded many more songs during this period of exploration, but most of them had never seen the light of day. They were kept locked away in his large stash of studio reel-to-reels, and nobody was able to listen… until now.”

The new version of The Real Thang has 18 songs. The first half is a showcase of White’s singing and songwriting as a country artist and includes several songs he wrote and sang with Waylon Jennings during their time together in the ‘70s. The back half finds White moving into more of the “swamp funk” jam sessions, which became instrumental in his live shows.

Tracklist:
1. Good-Bye L.A. (3:19)
2. Mamas Don't Let Your Cowboys (Grow Up To Be Babies) (Feat. Waylon Jennings) (3:35)
3. Cowboy Singer (2:59)
4. It Just Don't Get It No More (2:33)
5. Redneck Women (Feat. Waylon Jennings) (3:07)
6. I Came Here To Party (2:58)
7. That's The Way A Cowboy Rocks And Rolls (Feat. Waylon Jennings) (4:34)
8. Let's Trade Heartaches (2:50)
9. She Sits Close To The Driver (2:55)
10. Pour Me Another Memory (3:11)
11. Hangin' On (3:11)
12. Alligator Stomp (3:50)
13. Swamp Rap (5:06)
14. I Get Off On It (5:10)
15. Grounded (3:26)
16. Even Trolls Love Rock N' Roll (5:07)
17. Polk Salad Annie (4:23)
18. Disco Blues (4:11)


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