Title: Buying a Book
Company: Atlantic
Catalog: SD 8231
Year: 1969
Country/State: Rogers or Navasota Texas (?)
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG+
Comments: cut out notch top edge
To be honest, 1969's "Buying a Book" wasn't going to change anyone's opinion of Joe Tex. If you admired his goofball, funny streak, then you were going to appreciate tracks like 'Sure Is Good', 'It Ain't Sanitary' and 'Get Your Lies Together'. If you were impressed by his activist persona, then 'We Can't Sit Down Together'' was liable to strike a chord with you. If you liked his southern story-teller romps 'That's the Way', 'The Only Way' and 'Grandma Mary' were going to be up your alley. If you didn't like any of those characteristics, well you might want to stop reading here. I'll readily admit that Tex didn't have soul's greatest voice and while he was a prolific writer, much of his out put was forgettable. That said, with Tex responsible for penning all twelve numbers, song for song, this LP stood as one of his better and most consistent releases. The album lacked a true top-40 killer cut, but with one or two exception, virtually every one of these was worth hearing.
- Even before he converted to Islam and changed his name, Tex was one of soul's most activist practioneers. With Tex adopting his best gospel preacher stance, 'We Can't Sit Down Together' was a perfect example of his willingness to stand up and make a statement - this one seemed to focus on black empowerment. rating: *** stars
- Opening up with some tasty Mexican-styled horns and Tex singing the title in a number of foreign languages, 'Sure Is Good' was a breezy and fun outing. One of my favorite performances on the album. Hum, wonder what a Doug Sahm - Joe Tex collaboration would have sounded like ... rating: **** stars
- Opening with an extended vamp where Dr.Tex waxed over the public's demand for relationship advice, 'That's the Way' really hit its stride when Tex started prescribing ways for men to improve their relationships with their wives, You simply had to smile at Tex's heartfelt recommendations. rating: *** stars
- Side one's funkiest performance, 'Anything You Wanna Know' was a surprisingly funny and on target number describing the inner workings of a small town's black community. rating: **** stars
- Tex's goofball side came flying out with 'It Ain't Sanitary'. Yeah, today the plotline of love gone wrong and revenge sounds positively quaint and almost sophomoric, but given my own 3rd grader sense of humor I have to admit that I love this one. rating: **** stars
- A bluesy, old-school ballad, 'The Only Way' the was a classic slice of Tex as the pained story-teller. Listening to this one you had to wonder if he was still pissed off at James Brown. rating: *** stars
- 'Grandma Mary' was the first track on the album that I can say I really didn't like. To my ears Tex was simply trying to hard on this one giving it a formulaic feel that sounded corny and forced. rating: ** stars
- Tex at his funkiest best, unless you were a Puritan or dead, 'Get Your Lies Together' was bound to make you smile. One suspects this may have been an autobiographical story ... rating: **** stars
- Even for the late 1960s 'The Same Thing You Did To Me' has an extremely sexist stance and it's doubtful this one won Tex any fans among women's groups. That didn't detract from the fact the song rocked out ... time to do some 'push-aways'. rating: **** stars
- Another slice of bluesy-story telling, the title track sounded like something Clarence Carter would have killed to have written, or at least recorded. 'Young girls is my weakness ...' We should all have such vigor in our golden years. rating: *** stars
I've never understood the weird marketing agreement which saw Tax's albums released on Atlantic while the singles came out on Dial ... So, dial tapped the set for a single in the form of:
- 1969's 'Buying a Book' b/w 'Chicken Crazy' (Dial catalog number 45-4090)
For some reason this one's surprisingly hard to score - not particularly rare or expensive, but you just don't see it very often.
"Buying a Book" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) We Can't Sit Down Together (Joe Tex) - 2:59
2.) Sure Is Good (Joe Tex) - 3:19
3.) That's the Way (Joe Tex) - 3:49
4.) Anything You Wanna Know (Joe Tex) - 3:48
5.) It Ain't Sanitary (Joe Tex) - 3:48
(side 1)
1.) The Only Way (Joe Tex) - 3:18
2.) Grandma Mary (Joe Tex) - 3:35
3.) Get Your Lies Together (Joe Tex) - 2:47
4.) The Same Thing You Did To Me (Joe Tex) - 2:40
5.) Buying a Book (Joe Tex) - 3:25
