Joe Tex

The first ten tracks of this CD comprised the totality of Tex's 1971 Atlantic LP From the Roots Came the Rapper. This isn't exactly a straight reissue of that record, though, since it tacks on ten additional tracks recorded in the early '70s. The era this material represents wasn't an artistic or commercial high-water mark in Tex's career, although it's OK. Like his late-'60s sides, it bridges smooth soul with funk and anticipates rap, though it's a little lusher than his slightly earlier stuff. From From the Roots Came the Rapper itself, a highlight is the epic eight-minute version of "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)," which naturally includes some extended spoken sections. That and the similarly constructed 11-minute cover of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" make you wonder whether there was some influence traveling back and forth between Tex and Isaac Hayes. The rest of that LP had fair, and not great, good-natured yet earthy soul with a bit more of a slick Northern production influence than his '60s records. Tex himself, surprisingly, wrote just one of the tunes, though the other writers included stalwarts Jerry Williams Jr. (aka Swamp Dogg) ("The Baby Is Mine") and Don Covay ("I Can Do It Better"). The ten additional bonus tracks appeared on early-'70s Dial singles and the LPs I Gotcha and JT Spills the Beans, with one of them ("Lesley") previously unreleased; 1975's "Under Your Powerful Love" is the only cut dating from after 1972, and its early disco feel makes it a little out of place. The early-'70s tracks are OK, characteristic soul-gospel-funk Tex. But there's a sense that he's going over ground he tilled several times before, and not with the same sense of excitement as the first or second time around. The funk-rap flavor gets tangiest on the 1972 single "King Thaddeus." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide