Released in 2018 and created alongside Poliça’s Ryan Olson and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Love, Loss and Auto-Tune reminded us that Jerry Williams aka Swamp Dogg remains one of the most inspired and underestimated soul brothers of the planet, at 76 years old. With unshakeable lyrics and a chaotic discography, the Southern legend has always had this excessive cult personality, worshipped by fans of groove but not well-known to the masses… Two years later and Olson is still on production, and Vernon features on Sleeping Without You Is a Dragg, the opener for Sorry You Couldn’t Make It which also sees Jenny Lewis and Sam Amidon feature. Who else could bring together such an eclectic mix of guests? A mix which is further enriched by the addition of country songwriter John Prine on two songs, whose anti-Vietnam anthem Sam Stone he covered last century… Less wacky than its predecessor, this album highlights the soulman’s voice as much as his songwriting, but is perhaps less explosive than the genre is accustomed to. Like a few other Southern artists, Swamp Dogg injects his soul music with elements of country; Prine’s presence does amplify this effect but the instrumentation (a violin here, a steel pedal guitar there) also plays its part. In 1971, Swamp Dogg had already had his brush with country music with Don’t Take Her (She’s All I Got), written for Freddie North and which shot to the top of the charts a year later with Johnny Paycheck’s version. This song also features at the heart of this 2020 collection, one of the most personal tracks to the songwriter. Is this more Jerry Williams than Swamp Dogg? His reflections on aging and his stories of heartbreak certainly tinge the album with a certain original intensity. At the dawn of his eighth decade, this soulman is more sincere than ever before. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz