Joy's all White

My copy of Joy Lynn White's One More Time arrived today, and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed listening to it tonight.

At 11 tracks, it's not too long, and yet a whole world of music is in there. Stunning vocals, excellent guitar playing, a world history of musical styles, all achieved with the kind of personal vision that puts you in mind of someone as quirky and original as Jonathan Richman (which is high praise indeed from me, as there is nobody I have seen live more times than JR, not even the Dylan). Talking of the Dylan, there are even a couple of songs here on which Joy evokes his singing style; there's another thundering rhythm 'n' blues 'n' country track that reminds me of Booker T and the MGs, and of course she sounds like the Shangri-Las on "A Certain Boy." I just glanced at the Amazon.com in-house review, and it is indeed right on the money:

With her molasses drawl, White's phrasing on the opening "Keep This Love Alive" makes her sound like the soul mate of mid-'60s Bob Dylan. The album continues to explore the bitter and the sweet of love on "I'm Free," "Looking for You," "Victim of Love," and particularly "Love Sometimes." White extends her musical range from a playful R&B romp through "A Certain Boy" (a gender reversal of the Ernie K-Doe hit, later revived by Warren Zevon) to the mountain gospel of "If You Want My Heart" and the garage-band urgency of "Good Rockin' Mama." Though White's delivery consistently packs a punch, she shows considerable emotional depth on "Girls with Apartments in Nashville," one of the best songs ever about aspiring country artists, and "Just Some Girl."

Now, I often tell you to support artists who are doing their own thing, in spite of the record industry's determination to keep selling us pap, and sometimes I feel like I'm doing it more for duty than for love - but this is a truly great record, and if you love music you will not regret buying it. It's like being told that you should eat a lot of cheeseburgers because it is good for the welfare of cattle. Or something.

And I know it's just a weakness
That is deep inside of me
I made so many wrong choices
With the cards that were dealt to me
With the cards that were dealt to me

And I wonder where the day goes
I'm the queen of wastin' time
I've got everybody's number
But I keep on losin' mine

And I know it's just a habit
And it doesn't have to be
I made so many wrong choices
With the cards that were dealt to me
With the cards that were dealt to me

Give me one more time
Just one more time