2-CD set) Joe Barry might not have invented the strand of Louisiana music that is known as swamp pop, but his huge hit 'I'm A Fool To Care' did a great deal to establish the sound across America and the world more than 50 years ago. It was his only big chart hit, but by no means his only good record, as this new all-encompassing 2CD set demonstrates from beginning to end. "I'm A Fool To Care" embraces every recording that Joe made for maverick producer Huey Meaux during the 1960s - including a handful of previously undocumented titles - plus all of the tracks from his Meaux-produced comeback album of the mid-70s, 52 tracks in all.
It's the first Joe Barry compilation to source its contents exclusively from fresh new transfers of the original master tapes stored in the Meaux tape vaults, and the first to present its contents in stereo, where stereo masters exist. It's about as definitive a compilation as you'll find on any artist, anywhere and includes only those tracks that have been positively identified as being by Joe Barry. A wealth of label shots and a lengthy essay that features material from a largely unpublished 1979 interview with Joe will make this a must for all collectors of vintage Texas and Louisiana R&B from its halcyon era.