The use of fiddle against a funky, staccato rhythm and sweeping, distorted electric lead is a particularly refreshing juxtaposition that helps elevate the cross-pollination of the two genres to a new level of funky cool. Thematically, it sticks closer to his roots in soul music, sounding a bit like a countrified Curtis Mayfield lamenting the onslaught of drug culture within the urban wastelands of 1970s America.
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“Family Pain” is particularly effective, riding a cool, minor-key strut and recounting all manner of familial problems (“ They’re all going out together smoking crack and dealing cocaine”). On paper, it’s a rather odd combination however, it works exceptionally well in this particular setting, showing just how close the two genres have always been in terms of emotionality and melodic construction. “Don’t Take Her (She’s All I Got)” takes Billy Sherrill’s countrypolitan and filters it through the slow, strutting Stax sound. From punchy horn charts to keening melodies, the album carries all the hallmarks of the genre struck through with a country twang. That said, Sorry You Couldn’t Make It is very much the product of the 21st century with its reliance on electronic drums, retro-styled soul and a crisp, clean production never found on his earliest releases.ĭespite the preprogrammed drums prevalent throughout, much of Sorry You Couldn’t Make It relies on real live instruments to help establish a retro-futurist take on classic southern soul. Rather than merely resting on his laurels, he continues to reshape and refine his particular idiom with minor tweaks and changes that help ensure the music sounds fresh and engaging. If nothing else, this refusal to play to expectations shows the erstwhile Jerry Williams Jr.’s resolve to continue to be creative, stretching his stylistic limits, well into his twilight years. It’s yet another in a string of interesting moves by the cult hero eccentric, coming two years after his strangely engaging, Auto-Tune-heavy release, Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune. For his latest late-stage outing, Swamp Dogg seeks to countrify his particular brand of funky soul music.
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