Jim Ford – The Sounds Of Our Time

Jim Ford is a music-world Zelig. He grew up with Loretta Lynn a neighbor and later was in a relationship with Bobbie Gentry, afterward contending that he wrote “Ode To Billie Joe”. There he is in the photo collage adorning his close friend Sly Stone’s There’s A Riot Going On, and in a studio writing songs with Bobby Womack and Ronnie Wood. That’s him recording in London with Brinsley Schwarz and the Grease Band. Aretha Franklin recorded his “Niki Hoeky”, and Elvis had it on his jukebox. You get the idea. But Bear Family doesn’t grant reissue privileges just for being a fascinating character, and this collection puts Ford’s complete-package talents on display. It pairs his only full-length release, 1969’s near-masterpiece Harlan County, with fifteen additional cuts ranging from the Nick Lowe-covered “36 Inches High” (Ford’s version manages to be both stripped-down and robust) to the pure honky-tonk of “Happy Songs Sell Records, Sad Songs Sell Beer”. His hybrid style draws on roots rock and country soul, quite possibly inventing pub rock in the process. Or, in name-drop terms, Dan Penn meets Tony Joe White meets Joe South. And Ford probably has met ’em all.