Tony Joe White's second Warner Bros. album is an awesome, exquisite musical
jewel and a departure from most of the attributes for which he is best
known, from songs like "Polk Salad Annie." Acoustic textured
for much of its length and built on a close, intimate sound overall, The
Train I'm On is permeated with the dark side of White's usual swamp rock
sound, filled with songs about unsettled loves and lives, and men caught
amid insoluble situations. Betraying surprising vulnerability for much
of its length, even on songs like "If I Ever Saw a Good Thing"
and "300 Pounds of Hongry" (among the few full band numbers
here, with a gorgeous sax solo by Charles Chalmers on the former), he
shows off an emotional complexity that wasn't always obvious on his earlier
work, only really cutting loose boldly on "Even Trolls Love Rock
and Roll" and a tiny handful of other cuts. The rest is dark, pensive,
soulful bluesy rock, highlighted by some bristling acoustic guitar work
(check out "As the Crow Flies") and superb singing throughout
("The Migrant" is worth the price of admission by itself).
(by Bruce Eder, All
Music Guide)
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