Tony Joe White: Live from Austin, TX (2006)

Recorded in 1980, this "live at Austin City Limits" performance by Tony Joe White is one of the wildest and rawest they ever taped. Many artists choose to beef up their bands for the program. White played with his touring group: drummer Jeff Hale and bassist Steve Spear. While hearing live versions of his classics done wild and raw is awesome, hearing Tony Joe White play the hell out of his guitar in a without-a-net-setting is a rare thing. He doesn't need to show off, it's all at the service of his greasy, gritty, deeply soulful swamp funk tunes. His read of his classic "Rainy Night in Georgia" is the rare ballad here, and no one sings it the way he does. "Willie and Laura Mae Jones" is here, as is a Delta blues-drenched "Lustful Earle and the Married Woman," done on an acoustic. Live from Austin, TX closes with the minor key blues rocker "I Get Off on It," making the entire proceeding a must-have for White fans.

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