Harlan County (album)

Harlan County
Harlan County
Studio album by Jim Ford
Released	August 1969
Genre	Country; soul; funk;
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)
Rik Pekkonen – engineering

References

^ ^a ^b "New Album Releases for August". Billboard. August 2, 1969. p. 55. Retrieved March 22, 2012. JIM FORD – Harlan County
^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Harlan County by Jim Ford". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c 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)

[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.

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