If the World Was You

J.D. Souther

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 14, 2008)
• Original Release Date: October 14, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mri Associated
• ASIN: B001F7XITW
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #18,584 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Souther was greatly influenced by Texan Roy Orbison, whose sound he tried to emulate. Following his move to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he met a young guitarist from Detroit named Glenn Frey. They bonded over their Detroit roots and a common love of country and R&B music. In short order, they began working together while sharing a small apartment in Los Angeles' Echo Park area (their downstairs neighbor was Jackson Browne with whom both Souther and Frey would collaborate on numerous projects).

Shortly after meeting, Souther and Frey formed a folk duo called Longbranch Pennywhistle. Their lone album, released in 1970 on Jimmy Bowen's Amos Records, featured significant contributions from guitarists James Burton and Ry Cooder, fiddler Doug Kershaw, drummer Jim Gordon, pianist Larry Knechtel and bassist Joe Osborn.

After recording an eponymous solo album in 1972, persuaded by David Geffen, Souther formed the Souther Hillman Furay Band with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay. The group released two albums, but creative tensions and lack of record sales (not to mention Furay's discomfort with playing secular music following his conversion to Christianity) led to the band's demise.

Souther is probably best known for his well crafted songwriting abilities, especially in the field of country rock. He co-wrote some of the biggest hits for the Eagles, including "Best of My Love", "Victim of Love", "Heartache Tonight", and "New Kid in Town". He also wrote songs for several of Ronstadt's multi-platinum albums, including "Faithless Love" from Heart Like a Wheel and "White Rhythm and Blues" included in her Living in the USA album. He also recorded several notable duets with Ronstadt, including "Hearts Against the Wind," "Prisoner in Disguise," and "Sometimes You Can't Win." He wrote "Run Like a Thief," which appeared on Home Plate by Bonnie Raitt.

His biggest hit as a solo artist was his 1979 Orbison-influenced song "You're Only Lonely" from the album of the same name, which reached number 7 on the Billboard charts. A collaboration with James Taylor called "Her Town Too" from Taylor's Dad Loves His Work album reached number 11 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.

He was a contributor on the Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night 1987 concert and video, sang The Platters' "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" in the 1989 movie Always and sang the theme song to the 1989-1992 sitcom Anything But Love.

`If The World Was You` is his first new album in 24 years. The album was recorded live in the studio with a five-piece jazz ensemble. It includes the 12 minute 56 second epic `The Secret Handshake of Fate`.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He's Ba-a-a-ck! And he's going strong!, October 14, 2008

By	Tim McMullen "Tim McMullen" (Rowland Heights, CA) - See all my reviews

Put simply: I love this collection. That comes as no surprise, since I consider Souther to be one of the finest songwriters of the late 20th (and now 21st) century. This album is not exactly indescribable--I shall endeavor to describe it--but it is uncategorizable. JD's new one will baffle the music industry because the industry has become so pathetically narrow in its niches. That it will be baffled is a good thing!

The album is not exactly groundbreaking; it is, in fact, grounded in the past. It is not exactly trail-blazing because it follows not only the road not taken but the road unlikely to be taken by anyone else. We have seen great song writers like Danny O'Keefe and Randy Newman dabble around the edges of this untapped genre, and Souther himself, especially on his album Black Rose, had his toes in the water of this approach, but here it comes at us full blown (brass pun intended). Lieber and Stoller meet Mongo Santamaria and Bill Monroe at Chet Baker's house down in Cuba.

Souther's Texas drawl, even more pronounced than in the past, croons and smoothes and squeaks and slides in and out of the melodies, while horns and banjos and pianos take the place of lead guitars and the brushes shush the snare. The description of his voice may not sound flattering, but it is; it has become what it he intended it to be: a beautiful, jazz instrument. The co-founder of the cool, LA country/rock school has graduated.

The lyrics are typical Souther, only more so: Literate, complex, catchy, clever, and even, dare I say it, occasionally profound. Compare that to anything on any of the pop, country, hip hop, or R&B charts of today. There is truly nothing like this uniquely Southerian amalgam. It has tinges of bluegrass jazz, but it's not "dawg" music. It has old school, 50's rock rhythms with Amiri Baraka-style meticulously crafted, improv sounding jazz combo accompaniment, but it's not exactly jazz. It has country and folk essences, but it is neither. And it is all of the above.

If you care about songs and songwriters, this one is a must have.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What's the rush?..., October 30, 2008

By	Mark J. Rogers "Overtime58" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There's a lot that's new here. None more pronounced than the fact that there isn't one line sung in harmony. For JD Souther, that's quite a departure. But there's also a lot, if you've been a fan as long as I have, that will be familiar. I love this album. It's been playing in my CD player since I bought it. "Looking for a place to lay you down, but I don't want to make you cry" could have come right out of anything he's ever done. His voice is just as it always was....plaintive, clear, musical. A little bit of Texas opera. Someone wrote here that he still sounds like Glen Frey. I disagree with that. He, like David Crosby, is in an age-defying league of his own. The jazz accompaniment is not at all unexpected. More so than any of his old contemporaries, Jazz was never too far away. Listen to "Trouble in Paradise", or "Doors Swing Open" and you could have guessed that it would eventually carry an entire album. Didn't think it would take 25 years, however. It's been a long time. It's very nice to hear these songs sung by a great talent.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! This IS good., March 1, 2009

By	MicTimMul "MicTimMul" (maryland, usa) - See all my reviews

Like a few others here I am a longtime appreciator. I always liked the songs Mr. Souther wrote with others, even when I didn't like everything the others wrote. Twenty-five or more years later I still love "You're Only Lonely". So this new thing is 25 years after. It's recorded live with jazz players. It references Blue Note and it shows growth and breadth. The 70s ended a long time ago. Those records (remember records?) were packed with some of the best studio players around and it WAS just slick. But this is a different time, and a lot of people have graduated from back then and wound up here. Here is a very different place. The world is a vastly different place and so is the music industry. But JD Souther is a talented guy and he's managed to make a very listenable piece of work with a different feel. It's not that oh-so-great-classic-rock-album but it is extraordinarily accessible. There's some of what we knew back then, but a lot of what is good is how things change. Smaller, easier, but it shows craftsmanship. There's a lot of good new music out there. Some of it by new people, some of it by old friends. Some of it is hugely produced and some of it isn't. This is clearly of the latter on both counts. But it's good, real good, and it is wonderful to find something from an old favorite that is seriously worth a listen. So yeah, get yourself one. Get one for someone younger who wouldn't know melody if it hit them over the head. Oh hey, one more thing. If you don't have 13 minutes in your life to listen to one thing then you are doing something wrong.