JD Souther: You're Only Lonely

JD Souther might well be considered the unsung hero of country rock as we know it. Forget for the moment the ill-conceived and woefully mis-executed David Geffen vanity project that was Souther, Hillman and Furay: his early alliance in Longbranch Pennywhistle, with the late Glenn Frey, co-founder of the Eagles, led to Souther's collaborations with that group, including but not limited to what is arguably the pinnacle of their discography Desperado (Asylum, 1973) (he is one of the captured outlaws pictured on the album's back cover photo).

Ironically enough, the Detroit native's self-titled debut solo album is a more mature and fully formed piece of work than the eponymous debut by those aforementioned icons of the hybrid genre (Eagles would cover its high point, "How Long," on their Long Road Out of Eden (Lost Highway Records, 2007). And although Souther achieved more than a little commercial success later in his career, including a 1981 duet with James Taylor entitled "Her Town Too," his own mainstream claim to fame resides in the title song to his third album under his own name 'You're Only Lonely" (this in addition to recordings of his originals by Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt).

A 'Top 10' breakthrough in the same year the LP came out, the track opens an expanded CD reissue of the album including two unreleased tracks. As the author of the song notes in Joe Marchese's detailed essay within the enclosed sixteen-page booklet (its juxtaposition with an array of photos the customary level of packaging detail for this label), "Ever Faithful Woman" was finished for the album but could not be included due to the space constrictions for vinyl based on optimum audio quality.

Contrary to the forlorn and bedraggled photo of Souther on the front cover, this cut is as polished and well-crafted piece of work as the nine cuts formally issued. And its companion piece is only slightly less so, an early alternate take of "Bad News Travels Fast:" featuring a tart, r&b flavored sax solo by the late David Sanborn, it not only counteracts some of the (overly?) polished, middle-of-the-road motifs within this music but also connects implicitly with the ever-so—sardonic expression of vulnerability here that is "White Rhythm And Blues."

Taken together this pair makes for an effective encore to the nine tracks as originally released and concluded with such salty effervescence with "Trouble In Paradise." Sounding in voice like no one so much as his former band mate's older brother, Souther is equally known as a composer: the aforementioned hit is a tongue-in-cheek take on Fifties doo-wop arranged to underscore the irony in the vocal delivery. The long-time Texas resident proved himself the most accomplished songwriter of the aforementioned contrived triumvirate as he reaffirms his skill here on selections like "If You Don't Want My Love" "The Moon Just Turned Blue."

But Souther also proves himself a pragmatic musician and viable bandleader in this forty-five-minute plus. The rhythm section of bassist Kenny Edwards and drummer Rick Marotta swings with no little gusto, while seasoned session artists such as guitarist Waddy Wachtel, are restrained but authoritative on a doleful ballad like "The Last In Love."

Notwithstanding this singer/songwriter/musician's slightly more esoteric latter-day efforts like Natural History (Entertainment One Music, 2011) and Tenderness (Sony Masterworks, 2015), You're Only Lonely ultimately resides squarely in the California pop/rock category by dint of the chugging blues-derivatives "Til the Bars Burn Down" and the woefully bitter and defensive "Fifteen Bucks."

In contrast, the woe-is-me melancholy in "Songs of Love" is so transparently self-referential it might well have been the title of this record: like the long-player on which it appears, it would stand as an ideal introduction to this often-overlooked artist's work.

Comments