Andre Williams & The Sadies "Red-Dirt" 1999

This record's got it all, babies!!! It'll get you up on the down stroke, it's got Memphis Stax/Volt soul grooves, it's got Johnny Cash boom-chicka-ka-boom, it's got Screamin' Jay gospel menace, it's got smooth, "how ya doin, ladies?", crooning, and it's got, well, Andre-ance. He even rhymes "cash" with "ass" and makes it work!!!
Andre Williams, a collectors' cult figure who talk-sang his way through such '50s and '60s R&B novelties as "Jail Bait," "Bacon Fat," and "Cadillac Jack," waves his freak flag high on the very first track, "Hey Truckers" (rhymes with "bad you-know-whatters"). Though he cites his Alabama farm-boy upbringing as credentials, his X-rated country sounds like none you've heard before--sort of a midair crash between Screamin' Jay Hawkins, mid-'60s Bob Dylan, and the local honky-tonk hero. And while his originals, cowritten with Sadie Dallas Good, play on traditional country themes, they are more than merely clever; they are unfailingly melodic, full of nice arranging touches, and somehow true to the form, thanks in large part to Toronto's quirky cowpunk quartet the Sadies. His vocals range from a bellow to a rumbling recitation. And both Johnny Paycheck's "Pardon Me (I've Got Someone to Kill)" and Leon Payne's "Psycho" are present and accounted for, as are more conventional gems from Harlan Howard and Lefty Frizzell. Not for everyone, but perversely likable. - John Morthland
trax:
1. Hey Truckers 2. Busted 3. She's A Bag of Potato Chips 4. I Can Tell 5. Pardon Me (I've Got Someone To Kill) 6. Weapon of Mass Destruction 7. Easy on the Eyes 8. I'm an Old, Old Man (Tryin' to Live While I Can) 9. Tramp Trail 10. Psycho 11. I Understand (Do You) 12. Old John 13. Queen of the World 14. My Sister Stole My Woman