JOE SOUTH – Midnight Rainbows – (Island) – 1975

Read my other comments for detail on Joe South.

The great Joe South.

Joe South had an great run in music between 1965 and 1971

He wrote "Down in the Boondocks" for Billy Foe Royal in 1965 (#9US Pop), Deep Purple recorded his "Hush" (#4 US Pop, #58 UK Pop) , he himself charted with "Games People Play" (#12 Pop US 1969), "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home" (# Pop US 1969), "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" (#12 Pop US 1970) (which Elvis also recorded). and then wrote the massive hit "Rose Garden" for Lynn Anderson (#3 Pop US, #1 Country US, #3 UK Pop, #1 Pop Australia, Canada, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand and many other places)

Then he disappeared.

Not just from recording but from the music business.

The simple reason is the suicide death of his brother (and drummer) in 1971, Tommy South, who he was very close to.

He developed clinical depression and retreated. Quoted in the liner notes, "I flipped out. I just went completely into the ether in the wake of my brother's death. I just had to get away, so I went to the Islands, caught Polynesian paralysis and just lkived in the jungles of Maui for a couple of years".

He put himself back together went back to Georgia, with his wife and newborn son and recorded this album.

Most of the tracks are Joe South originals with a  few songs written in conjunction with friends, colleagues and songwriters Tommy Dean (who plays bass on this album) and Ed Farrell (who plays guitar on this album). There are also some covers where Joe has dug back into his musical memory  from the 50s (as befits a generation of US southern white boys who grew up listening to white rock n roll and black rhythm and blues ) as well as doing a Joe South flavoured Leon Russel track of more recent vintage.

Regardless of the covers this is a pure Joe South album. It has all the usual Joe South "milestones": a great sense of toe tapping pop, sharp observations, genuine quirkiness, careful arrangements and southern soul.

On face value this sounds like MOR adult pop but if you really listen you will hear a lot going on, both musically and lyrically.

You have to love the cryptic cover art also. … a photo of Joe standing in a field playing his guitar, but with a rainbow replacing his head.

The album was never going to fit into the charts in 1975. It bombed.

South was never without his demons.

This would be his last album at the age of 35. He tinkered with music but, by all accounts was happy to have left the business. He died in 2012.

Tracks (best in italics)

            Side One

• Medley: Midnight Rainbows – (Joe South-E.Farrell) / It Got Away  – (Joe South) – Quite good and pleasant though without the punchiness of his best songs.
• You Can Make It If You Try – (Ted Jarret) – First recorded by Gene Allison in 1958 (which peaked at #3 on the U.S. Black Singles, and #36 U.S. Pop Singles). The song was subsequently covered by The Rolling Stones (1965), Sly and the Family Stone (1969), Gene Vincent (1970), Buddy Guy (1980) and others. Joe gives this the deep southern soul treatment. It is good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can_Make_It_If_You_Try
• God Forgave Me – (Joe South, E. Farrell, T. Dean) – a country weepie in theme given a pop treatment. Perfectly realised.
• My Fondest Memories – (Joe South) – This he originally did in 1958 as the flip side to his single "The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor" (#47 Pop US), Horns introduce a few lines from "Amazing Grace" before the song slides into a spiritual mid tempo ballad with some typical quirky guitar.
• For Your Precious Love – (J. Butler, A. Brooks, Richard Brooks) – First recorded by Jerry Butler and the Impressions in 1958 (#11Pop US) (he rerecorded it and it charted again in 1966, #99 Pop US). It has been often covered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Your_Precious_Love

      Side Two

• To Have To Hold And Let Go – (Joe South) – a very typical Joe South song with a mid-tempo beat, a strong sense of pop melody and country influences done with a twist
• Stranger In A Strange Land – (Don Preston, Leon Russell) – First done by Leon Russell oh his album Leon Russell and the Shelter People (1971) album. Nicely, gently funky.
• Home And Homesick – (T. Dean) – a great tune and very Joe South thematically.
• Glad To Be Living On The Earth Today – (T. Sciple, J. Starr) – First recorded by Joe perhaps. On the liner notes he is quoted as saying "even though I didn't write it, it just about sums up the state of mind I brought back from the islands". Yes, this sounds like a Joe South penned songs. All his themes are here. Excellent.
• Cosmos – (Joe South) – a instrumental hoot. A MOR country psychedelic spin. Horns, and orchestra add to the twisted fun. It could be incidental strutting music from a film of the time.

And …

Patchy but still wonderful … I'm keeping it.

And, I can see Elvis covering any number of these songs.

Chart Action

Nothing no where

Sounds

Midnight Rainbows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cQ2XQ0YdYo

God Forgave Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1wzaNkwiqo

To Have To Hold And Let Go  

mp3 attached

Home And Homesick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHIBK0wIz8I

Others

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvzGAW4BB34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUUO9eSHPKQ

Review

—

Bio

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-south-mn0000171994

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_South

http://redkelly.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/joe-south-and-believers-shelter-capitol.html

http://doclawrencenews.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/joe-souths-georgia.html

Obituaries

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/singer-songwriter-joe-south-dead-at-72-20120907

http://deeprootsmag.org/2012/09/11/for-all-he-gave-and-for-giving-his-all/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/12/joe-south

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/joe-south-singer-and-songwriter-best-known-for-games-people-play-8113943.html

Website

http://www.joesouth.com/

Trivia

• Personnel: Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion – Joe South / Bass, Keyboards, Percussion – Tommy Dean / Drums – Mike Huey, Robert Nix, Roy Yeager / Guitar – Berry Bailey, Eddie Farrell / Horns – Cecil Welsch, Don Eisaman, Jerry Brooks, Larry Loden, Mark Radway, Neal McIlroy / Keyboards – Chris Wolski / Keyboards, Percussion – Al Webster / Arranged By – George Disney, Joe South, Ted Stovall / Backing Vocals – Al Webster, Barbara South, Debra Henderson, Joe South, Sherrill Maillet, Tommy Dean / Strings – Atlanta Symphony / Producer – Joe South, Steve Clark /Liner Notes – Jeff Walker (a music journalist, not Jerry Jeff). Recorded (A1a, A1b, B1 to B4) at Lefevere Studios & Studio One – Atlanta, Georgia. A2 to A5, B5: at Studio One, Atlanta, Georgia.