The Heroines

Tony Joe White, the Swamp Fox, never needed much more than a groove, a story and that deep, dark drawl to pull you in. Heroines keeps his run of quality original material going, rooted in blues-flavoured vintage sounds with a welcome twist.

Five of the album’s 12 tracks are duets with a brilliant cast: Jessi Colter, Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Michelle White. Can’t Go Back Home features Lynne, Closing in the Fire pairs White with Williams, Playa del Carmen Night is a duet with his daughter Michelle, and Wild Wolf Calling Me finds Harris in fine voice.

Elsewhere, White handles the vocals alone, keeping things simmering just under the boil as he moves through backwoods life, love, politics and spirituality. On Chaos Boogie, he turns to a country where firearms do more talking than at any time since the Old West. Another strong entry in his catalogue, and presented here on vinyl for the first time ever.