I love the swamp fox's music and the ladies he chose to be on this cd...esp Shelby Lynne. I gave it four stars instead of five because the first time I listened to it was while driving. I do have a great audio system in my vehicle, but still it's hard to actually hear and understand Tony's voice with the mix on this cd. This is best listened to in a quieter place. I felt that they should have brought his voice up a bit for the vocals...at times his voice seems to be a bit muddy and too much in the background.

It is so refreshing to "go back" sometimes to real music. Tony Joe White has really over impressed me with this fantastic album of blues, country, rock...as best described. I purchased this one along with the new Van Morrison Magic Time and both CDs are so enjoyable from two musical talents and legends. My acid jazz, soul, funk and other CDs have not returned to the machine since these arrived. Please, if you get a chance to take a trip back to mother earth try and have a listen to this one.

Starting and ending with 2 semi classical spanish guitar type pieces. Making Shelby Lynn sound good on Can't Go Back Home. Anyone and Emmylou. Listen for the "don't open the gate" line in Ice Cream Man. Rich Woman Blues. And Chaos Boogie, a song already on my list for 10 best songs of the year. It's a must buy.

On "The Heroines," Tony Joe White, the swamp fox, rides high again. Two of the tracks are songs from his excellent 2001 effort "The Beginning." "Ice Cream Man" sounds as excellent as when it rode into my personal top ten in 2001! The new version has a more full band sound and pours on the smoking White guitar. "Rich Woman Blues" is another excellent track that smolders with White's growl-sing blues groove, "Got a telephone call this morning, My baby wrecked her Mercedes Benz, she totaled out her Mercedes Benz, I said long as you're alright baby, that's all that matters, let them tow the thing on in." One of my favorites is the duet with Jessi Colter, "Fireflies in the Storm" with its searing slow burn, "Out of the shadows the wildness begins, we wait for morning & darkness moves in, but there's a light that keeps shining warm like fireflies in the storm." "Chaos Boogie" is a great rocking TJW track that sets your toe to tapping. The duets with Shelby Lynne, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, and Tony Joe's daughter Michelle are all excellent. The set begins & ends with two brief guitar instrumentals. "The Heroines" continues Tony Joe White's artistic peak, some 30 albums into his career. Enjoy!

Tony Joe White at his best can send chills down your spine. But sometimes his own captivating style can be its own worst enemy. Unfortunately, "The Heroines" is a bit of both. His soulful, whispered style can be very powerful. But it can also make the ambience of where and how you're listening a concern.

I first listened to "The Heroines" in my car and between road noise and the throbbing bass, much of it was unintelligible. The second listening was using headphones in a quiet room. This time I was able to concentrate on the intriguing lyrics and the true sentiment of the songs. Some are very heartfelt love songs and some others reflect White's playful side and his sense of humor. And the contributions of his vocal partners, from Shelby Lynne to Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams work so very well with Tony Joe.

All in all, this is a fun project and well worth the price. Just make sure you give it a chance to work on all the levels that it deserves.