Raven [Australia]
2001
Anthology
About This Album
It's hard to call Joe South a neglected artist, since so many of his songs have become pop standards, often through covers by other artists. "Hush" was Deep Purple's breakthrough, "Down in the Boondocks" was Billy Joe Royal's big hit, Lynn Anderson is forever identified with "Rose Garden," the Tams had a hit with "Untie Me," and Elvis Presley turned "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" into a signature anthem late in his career. Plus, South himself had big hits with "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home?" and "Games People Play," the latter of which won two Grammy Awards. His lack of recognition may stem from his notoriously temperamental personality, which helped push him to the sideline and eventually had him stop performing as an active recording artist, but it could also be because his music doesn't neatly fit into any one category. It manages to be rooted in both country and soul, but its presentation is pop, completely with psychedelic overtones and singer/songwriter ambitions. As evidenced by his hits, it was hardly inaccessible and, in many ways, it summarizes the sounds of mainstream pop in the late '60s and early '70s quite well, even as it stretches far beyond mere radio material.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4 and 13)

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