Midnight Pumpkin

• Artist: Toni Price
• Rating:
• Release Date: June 19, 2001
• Genre: Rock

Review

As a blues and R&B singer, Toni Price has no peers. Only Bonnie Raitt and Sue Foley -- both guitar players of considerable merit -- can approach the emotion Price can dig from a song, and of the two only Raitt has the same confidence with the material. Here, she is surrounded by her stalwart band and a host of friends who make up the elite studio crew of Austin, TX, including fiddler Champ Hood; guitarists Derek O'Brien, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, and Casper Rawls; bassist Frosty Smith; drummer Michael Duffy; David Grissom; and string king James Burton; as well as Tommy Shannon from Double Trouble and Jon Dee Graham. There are percussionists and a horn section and the whole damn thing shimmers with grace. Price delivers her songs without the reaching wail of her earlier records because she doesn't need to; she's a more nuanced vocalist, allowing the song to dictate to her what it needs. And what a collection of songs! There's the stomping bluegrass of Shelley King's "Call of My Heart," the smoky, tender artistry of Gwil Owen's "Something in the Water," the bluesy soul of "Work on It" and "Start of Something Good," and the Okie blues of J.J. Cale's "Like You Used To." Price also digs into her considerable early swing chops on the standard "Right Kind of Man," and duets with Malford Milligan on what should now be the watermark for Joe Tex's "I Want to Do Everything for You"; its original raw soul and barely restrained heat smolders between the singers. As if that weren't enough, there's a gospel quartet version of the late Blaze Foley's "Darlin'" and Gwil Owen and David Olney's swampy R&B torch stomp "Measure for Measure." From a lesser singer, this record would be a mess, a hodgepodge of rootless styles and wasted ambition. But in the heart and voice of Price -- via the production aesthetic of O'Brien and herself -- these songs all segue into one another, dovetailing seamlessly into a portrait of original raw soul. Lyrics and harmonies drip from Price's honeyed mouth like fine whiskey and cut a silhouette of her profile in the heart of the blues. One listen to Midnight Pumpkin and you'll never be the same. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Start of Somethin' Good		Toni Price	(6:01)
Thank You for the Love		Toni Price	(4:29)
Work on It		Toni Price	(4:03)
Something in the Water	Gwil Owen	Toni Price	(4:22)
The Right Kind Of Man	Toni Price	Toni Price	(3:25)
Call of My Heart		Toni Price	(3:42)
Darlin'	Blaze Foley	Toni Price	(3:55)
Measure for Measure	David Olney, Gwil Owen	Toni Price	(4:12)
I Want To Do (Everything For You)	Joe Tex	Malford Milligan, Toni Price	(4:17)
Who Needs Tears		Toni Price	(2:42)
Like You Used To	J.J. Cale	Toni Price	(4:03)
Keep This Love Alive		Toni Price	(4:37)
We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye	Harry Woods	Toni Price	(3:13)

Credits

Ian McLagan (Piano), Erik Hokkanen (Mandolin), Roscoe Beck (Bass), Jon Dee Graham (Lap Steel Guitar), Malford Milligan (Vocals), Derek O'Brien (Guitar (Electric)), Derek O'Brien (Producer), Derek O'Brien (Mixing), Toni Price (Main Performer), Tommy Shannon (Bass), Barry Frosty Smith (Drums), Barry Frosty Smith (Tambourine), Stuart Sullivan (Engineer), Stuart Sullivan (Mixing), John Mambo Trenor (Drums (Snare)), John Mambo Trenor (Rattle), Jared Tuten (Engineer), Lisa Pankratz (Drums (Snare)), Casper Rawls (Guitar (Acoustic)), Casper Rawls (Guitar), Casper Rawls (National Steel Guitar), Larry Fulcher (Bass), Brannen Temple (Drums), Jud Newcomb (Guitar (Acoustic)), Jud Newcomb (Guitar (Electric)), Brenda Ladd (Photography), Stanley Smith (Clarinet), Dick Reeves (Art Direction), Dick Reeves (Design), Olivier Giraud (Guitar (Acoustic)), Luis A. Guerra (Bass), John Mills (Saxophone), John Mills (Sax (Tenor))