Harlan County (album)

Harlan County
Harlan County
Studio album by Jim Ford
Released	August 1969[1]
Genre	Country; soul; funk[2];
Length	29:08
Label	Sundown
Producer	Jim Ford
Jim Ford chronology

Harlan County is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Ford. It was released on Sundown Records in 1969,[1] and reissued on Light in the Attic Records in 2011.[3] The album received universal acclaim from critics.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	88/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
PopMatters	[5]
Spin	favorable[2]

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".[3]

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."[4] 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."[4] 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."[2]

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"	Henry Cosby Lula Hardaway Sylvia Moy Stevie Wonder	3:10
3.	"Changin' Colors"	Suzanna Jordan	3:19
4.	"Dr. Handy"		2:36
5.	"Love on My Brain"		3:18
6.	"Long Road Ahead"	Bonnie Bramlett Delaney Bramlett Carl Radle	2:58
7.	"Under Construction"		1:45
8.	"Workin' My Way to L.A."	Ford Lolly Vegas	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)
Rick Pekkonen – enginnering

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)

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[billboard-1] "New Album Releases for August". Billboard. August 2, 1969. p. 55. Retrieved March 22, 2012. JIM FORD – Harlan County

[spin-2] 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.

[metacritic-3] "Harlan County by Jim Ford". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.

[allmusic-4] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Jim Ford – Harlan County". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.

[popmatters-5] Nelson, Dylan (October 24, 2011). "Jim Ford: Harlan County". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.