Fool to Care: Classic Recordings 1960-1977

Liner Note Author: Tony Rounce.
Photographer: Johnny Vallis.
It's missing a few obscure singles from the late 1960s, but otherwise, this two-CD anthology has everything Joe Barry recorded in the '60s and '70s, including the master take of everything he did for producers Floyd Soileau and Huey Meaux. His sole national hit, 1961's "I'm a Fool to Care," couldn't help but recall Fats Domino in its lazy drawl and New Orleans R&B backing; in the version here that adds a brief spoken intro, Barry even states, "though I sound like my friend the Fat Man, this is Joe Barry." For better or worse, the Domino comparisons would dog Barry throughout his career. And to be fair, those comparisons are pretty valid. True, Barry was white, and might have had a slightly more pronounced swamp pop bent (and a more country one on some of his later sides). Yet most of this material (the majority dating from the early '60s) sounds a lot like Fats' sides from the same period -- not even like outtakes or imitations, but Domino tracks that you might not happen to have heard. If that's a sound you like, however, Barry certainly does a credible job with the style. He mixes some of his own songs with covers of pre-rock/pop songs (which "I'm a Fool to Care" was in its original incarnation), pre-rock country tunes, and compositions in which notable guys like Dave Bartholomew, Huey Meaux, and even Dr. John (under his real name, Mac Rebennack, on the 1963 single "The Loneliest Boy in Town") had a hand. There are also some rarities, like his pre-"I'm a Fool to Care" 1960 single, a 1962 single done under the pseudonym Roosevelt Jones," a few outtakes and alternates, and a French version of "I'm a Fool to Care," credited to Josef Barrios. The liner notes provide an excellent overview of his career, but take heed that the mid-'70s recordings filling more than half of disc two aren't so hot, with more modern production not as suited to Barry's voice and material. ~ Richie Unterberger