If you know Steamy Windows by Tina Turner, Rainy Night In Georgia by Brook Benton, Polk Salad Annie by Elvis Presley or Willie And Laura Mae Jones by Dusty Springfield, then you know something about one side of Tony Joe White, the Swamp Fox from Louisiana. He wrote all of those and plenty more besides. Not only an accomplished songwriter, though, Tony Joe White is also recording artist and performer in his own right, singing and playing guitar on his own and other people's records and regularly touring. Black And White was the album that followed his own 1969 US top ten hit Polk Salad Annie, the song that introduced swamp rock to the nation: funky horns, southern fried wah-wah guitar, alligator soul boogie and a voice as deep as his sideburns. There's a stack of that here, including an extra-fine version of Willie And Laura Mae Jones, as well as the earlier single Soul Francisco and four other original songs. The second side of the album consists of other people's material done the Tony Joe White way: Johnny Taylor's Who's Making Love, Slim Harpo's Scratch My Back, Roger Miller's Little Green Apples (a surprisingly effective and tender version), Glen Campbell's Wichita Lineman and Dusty Springfield's (or Dionne Warwick's) The Look Of Love.

A great Billy Swan production and great backing musicians combined with powerful songwriting and singing from Tony Joe make this an essential album. Well known tracks are Rainy Night in Georgia and Roosevelt and Ira Lee but there aren't any weak links. If you like good music played with real feeling get this one.

"Timelessly nasty," that is about the most appropriate way I can think of to describe this excellent set. The opening title track "Feeling Snakey" is some of the greasiest low-down swamp music you'll hear as Tony Joe blasts, "If I ever make it back to Louisiana, if I ever get my body uncoiled, gonna take my woman back to the shack in the swamps, smell them crawdads boil." On this track it's abundantly clear that Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits owes a major debt of gratitude to Tony Joe White's lead guitar style. "Bayou Bleus" steams with a smoldering groove. On "Nothing I Would Not Do" Tony Joe waxes romantic, "When the night is falling, look up at the sky, pick you out the brightest one and remember that I will be looking at the same one trying to hang on until I make it back to you." On "Dark Horse Coming" Tony Joe's guitar burns like coal as he refuses to be ready for death, "I went up on the mountain, heard the panther scream, I know it's a sign, but I don't know what it means." "The Organic Shuffle" is a swamper's novelty song with a tale from the health food store. "Living Off the Land" has some blazing lead guitar. "Rico (14) Field Worker" is an aching ballad, "I never told you about my dreams." Once again, Tony Joe White has put together an excellent set that pushes & pulls, kicks & screams, wails & moans. Like a fine wine, this swamp fox is aging well.

Iiro Rantala (b. 1970) is one of the most prominent Finnish jazz musicians best known as the founder and pianist of Trio Toykeat, Finland's internationally most famous jazz band. Rantala has written a concerto, which is not jazz nor contemporary classical music, but it is enjoyable, entertaining, compelling and action-packed music. The orchestration has been done by composer, violinist and conductor Jaakko Kuusisto, who conducts the Tapiola Sinfonietta also on this recording.

After going back to a more Gothic Metal sound with “Storm”, Theatre Of Tragedy is back after three years with “Forever If The World”.