1969 studio album by Jim Ford
| Harlan County | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Jim Ford | ||||
| Released | August 1969 (1969-08) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 29:08 | |||
| Label | Sundown | |||
| Producer | Jim Ford | |||
| Jim Ford chronology | ||||
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Harlan County is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Ford. It was released on Sundown Records in 1969, and reissued on Light in the Attic Records in 2011. The album received universal acclaim from critics.
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 88/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| PopMatters |   |
| Spin | favorable |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Harlan County received an average score of 88, based on 7 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that "Harlan County is filled with unassuming, midtempo rockers and ballads, which are either songs about love or driving." He added, "Ford has a pleasant, unremarkable white soul voice that, when combined with the mannered production, tends to undersell the songs, which would have benefited from grittier, committed performances." Andrew Hultkrans of Spin wrote, "A Kentucky-born singer-songwriter once called the 'baddest white man on the planet' by Sly Stone, Jim Ford pioneered a seamless blend of country, soul, and funk on 1969's Harlan County, using a crack studio band that included Elvis guitarist James Burton and Dr. John."
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jim Ford, except where indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Harlan County" | 3:32 | |
| 2. | "I Wanna Make Her Love Me" | 3:10 | |
| 3. | "Changin' Colors" |
| 3:19 |
| 4. | "Dr. Handy" | 2:36 | |
| 5. | "Love on My Brain" | 3:18 | |
| 6. | "Long Road Ahead" | 2:58 | |
| 7. | "Under Construction" | 1:45 | |
| 8. | "Workin' My Way to L.A." |
| 2:47 |
| 9. | "Spoonful" | Willie Dixon | 2:48 |
| 10. | "To Make My Life Beautiful" | Alex Harvey | 2:57 |
| Total length: | 29:08 | ||
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.
- Jim Ford – arrangement (2, 6–8), production
- Lolly Vegas – arrangement (2, 6–8)
- Gene Page – arrangement (1, 3–5, 9, 10)
- Rik Pekkonen – engineering
References
- ^ "New Album Releases for August". Billboard. August 2, 1969. p. 55. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
JIM FORD – Harlan County
- ^ Hultkrans, Andrew (July 26, 2011). "Jim Ford, 'Harlan County' (Light in the Attic)". Spin. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
- ^ "Harlan County by Jim Ford". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Jim Ford – Harlan County". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
- Nelson, Dylan (October 24, 2011). "Jim Ford: Harlan County". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
External links
- Harlan County at Discogs (list of releases)