Country Soul

AMG Review of Country Soul

Eugene Chadbourne
All Music Guide

Here's Paycheck in an album of country cover versions, pretty much all big hit songs from the mid-'60s. Some of them are of the done-to-death variety, others forever tainted by Tom Jones and there's even "Danny Boy." The liner notes are not completely out of whack when they promise that Paycheck can bring a certain type of soul to a song that no one else can, and anyone who doubts that Paycheck possesses a highly polished vocal style and superior singing abilities just needs to check out the way he navigates his way through these titles. Nonetheless, he tries to play it too straight here and while it certainly would have been fun to hear his outlaw outfits of the '70s tackle this material, nothing quite like that happened and the song choices are largely pedestrian. Two Paycheck originals -- "Apartment Number 9" and "Touch My Heart" -- are head and shoulders above everything else. A curiosity of the original album sleeve is, in small print, Paycheck endorsing Baldwin guitars and amplifiers.