"TOUCH MY HEART" A Tribute To Johnny Paycheck (2004)

Tributes rarely get better than this, a country music masterpiece. Robbie Fulks' masterfully assembled set not only fetes Paycheck's hits, but it also wisely gives a nod to lesser-known (and some would say superior) early material from the Lil' Darlin' label. This is an inspired, diverse cast, whether it's titans like a fiery George Jones ("She's All I Got") or a reverent Larry Cordle ("Old Violin"). Much of this disc's greatness comes from unexpected places: Neko Case on a rousing "If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might As Well Go to the Bottom)," Al Anderson's sparse "Someone to Give My Love To," Fulks and Gail Davies on the stone country "Shakin' the Blues" and the great Dallas Wayne's stirring tremolo on "I Did the Right Thing." Bobby Bare Jr. delivers a boozy take on "Motel Time Again," and his daddy teams with Radney Foster, Buck Owens and Jeff Tweedy on a thoroughly kick-ass "Take This Job and Shove It." Need we say more? - RW (Billboard)Johnny Paycheck is best remembered as the likably ornery Nashville outlaw who scored a major crossover hit with David Allan Coe's "Take This Job and Shove it" and made the title a household phrase. Unfortunately, as is often the case, Paycheck's biggest hit also created a one-dimensional image that he was never able to escape, and did no justice to the full scope of his talent. Paycheck was a fine singer, a gifted songwriter, a respected journeyman musician who anchored road bands for George Jones and Porter Wagoner, and an artist whose work could be bitingly funny, heart-wrenching, intensely personal, or a little disturbing depending on which tune from which point of his career you chose to cue up. In short, the late Johnny Paycheck is a guy whose public profile could stand an overhaul, and thankfully ace songwriter and noted fan Robbie Fulks has been given the opportunity to do just that with Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck, in which 20 artists interpret songs that were either written or recorded by Paycheck during his nearly 40-year career in music. Fulks recorded most of these performances with the same core session band (including Redd Volkaert on guitar and the great Lloyd Green on pedal steel), giving the album a consistent and unified personality that makes this more than a collection of well-intentioned but scattershot single sides, and the "casting" is inspired, with all the performers ideal fits for their selections. George Jones captures the desperation amidst the bravado of "She's All I Got," Mavis Staples finds an almost spiritual devotion in "Touch My Heart," Neko Case's hard-edged honky tonk charge through "If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might as Well Go to the Bottom)" is breathless and a little bit scary, Mike Ireland's beautiful take on "A Man That's Satisfied" confirms he's one of the greatest unsung talents in country music, and Hank Williams III captures the dark and hopeless heart of "I'm the Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised" while calling up the spirit of his grandpa. Nearly every track on Touch My Heart dips into a slightly different shade of classic country music, and every song satisfies, while cohering into a thoroughly convincing and genuinely affecting argument for the diversity of Johnny Paycheck's talent. In short, this is a working model of how a tribute album should be done, and one imagines that, somewhere in that great honky tonk in the sky, Paycheck is tipping his hat to Robbie Fulks and his many talented friends -- they've truly done right by his work and his memory. Points added for David Cantwell's superb liner notes. (Mark Deming, Allmusic)

trax:

1. If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might as Well Go to the Bottom) - Neko Case 2. Someone to Give My Love To - Al Anderson 3. I'm Barely Hangin' On to Me - Marshall Crenshaw 4. Shakin' the Blues - Gail Davies & Robbie Fulks 5. I Did the Right Thing - Dallas Wayne 6. She's All I Got - George Jones 7. Touch My Heart - Mavis Staples 8. I'm the Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised - Hank Williams III 9. I Want You to Know - Jim Lauderdale 10. 11 Months 29 Days - Dave Alvin 11. Apartment #9 - Johnny Bush 12. The Lovin' Machine - Billy Yates 13. Motel Time Again - Bobby Bare Jr. 14. Man That's Satisfied - Mike Ireland 15. Take This Job and Shove It - Bobby Bare, Buck Owens, Jeff Tweedy & Radney Foster 16. Old Violin - Larry Cordle

...served by Gyro1966...