Chip Taylor – This Side Of The Big River

Anyone who writes about Chip Taylor generally begins by noting that the veteran singer-songwriter wrote “Wild Thing” and “Angel Of The Morning”. Less prominent is that Taylor made three superb country albums for Warner Bros. in the early and mid-’70s. This Side Of The Big River, the last of that trio, shows just how adept Taylor was at Nashville-style writing and arranging. The swing tune “Same Ol’ Story” and a raucous version of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” brim with an authenticity that belies Taylor’s New York roots. Likewise, the ballads “May God Be With Me” and “Sleepy Eyes” bring to mind the contemporaneous work of Kris Kristofferson. Nashville pedal steel great Pete Drake, backup singers the Jordanaires, and fiddler Buddy Spicher all contribute, but what’s especially striking is they way Taylor sounds like he’s reveling in the proceedings. He’s since called the album a labor of love — an assertion that’s easy to believe.