''Sorry You Couldn't Make It'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American musician and producer Swamp Dogg. It was released on March 6, 2020 via Joyful Noise Recordings in partnership with Pioneer Works Press. Recording sessions took place at Sound Emporium in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. It features contributions from John Prine, Justin Vernon, Jenny Lewis, and Ryan Olson among others. The duet sung between Swamp Dogg and John Prine appearing at the end of the album ("Please Let Me Go Round Again") is one of John Prine's final in-studio recording sessions. Swamp Dogg had known Prine since 1972, when he covered the country singer's ballad "

Sam Stone Sam Stone is the horror and fantasy pen name for British Thriller novellist and screenwriter Samantha Lee Howe. She is best known for her ''USA Today!'' best selling novel ''The Stranger In Our Bed'' published by HarperCollins imprint One More ...

" on his album third LP ''Cuffed, Collared & Tagged''.

Critical reception

''Sorry You Couldn't Make It'' was met with generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 79, based on eight reviews. The aggregator Album of the Year has the critical consensus of the album at a 77 out of 100, based on eleven reviews. Steven Edelstone of ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...

'' praised the album saying "''Sorry You Couldn't Make It'' represents yet another late-career experiment in a lengthy one filled with them, a back-to-basics approach by an artist who's seen it all. There’s no telling where Swamp Dogg goes from here, but if his most recent handful of releases are anything to go off of, it'll likely sound nothing like ''Sorry You Couldn't Make It''. But it also means that no matter what genre he tries on next, the results will be astounding". Scott Zuppardo of '' PopMatters'' stated "Sure, he loves his horns, we all do, but his country roots are showing on this record, and it's glorious". John Lewis of ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' said "The lyrics are presented with such conviction that it becomes quietly devastating. Rather like Swamp Dogg himself". Allison Hussey of '' Pitchfork'' said "His new album ''Sorry You Couldn't Make'' It restores him to a more even keel, examining grief from greater distance while savoring life's little sweetnesses. Billed as Williams' country album, ''Sorry You Couldn't Make It'' hits its thematic marks within funkified arrangements". AllMusic's Mark Deming said "''Sorry You Couldn't Make It'' declares there should be a place for Swamp Dogg in the country pantheon alongside Charley Pride,

Stoney Edwards Stoney Edwards was an American country singer. He was one of the first African-American singers to have a significant presence in country music. He is best known for the song, "She's My Rock," a Top 20 country hit that was later a hit song for ...

, Darius Rucker, and the other brave artists who've confronted the color line in

". Kaelen Bell of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' said "Though it still flirts with the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, soul and R&B that he's built his name on, the record has a country-fried warmth, coloured by slide guitar and Southern rhythms. That those Southern rhythms are played mostly by chintzy drum machine, that they're undermined by hip-hop-biting guitar samples or artificial horns, is the record's vaguely outlandish appeal". Music critic Tom Hull said "Jerry Williams, started out as an Atlantic r&b producer, released a brilliant debut as Swamp Dogg in 1970, and has been fading in and out ever since, his best moments the ones farthest out. Plays it safe here with a round of soulful blues, but lured John Prine in to cameo on two nostalgic ones, which are daring enough".

Track listing

Personnel

*Jerry " Swamp Dogg" Williams Jr. – vocals Vocalists *

Channy Leaneagh Channy is a given name. People with this name include: *Cheam Channy (born 1962), Cambodian male politician *Channy Yun (born 1972), South Korean male technologist *Chantel Woodhead Chantel Marie "Channy" Woodhead (born 17 September 1974 in Leeds ...

– vocals (tracks: 1, 7) * Jenny Lewis – vocals (tracks: 1, 7) *Mina Moore – vocals (tracks: 1, 7) * Justin Vernon – vocals (tracks: 2, 4), piano (track 1), guitar (tracks: 2-10) *Carmen Marks – vocals (track 3) *Courtland Williams – vocals (track 3) *Harry Watkins – vocals (track 3) *Leona Leshon – vocals (track 3) *Sherron Crenshaw – vocals (track 3) *Taj' London – vocals (track 3) * John Prine – vocals (tracks: 6, 10) Instrumentalists *Jim Oblon – guitar (tracks: 1, 4) *Chris Bierden –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(tracks: 1–7, 9, 10) *Larry "MoogStar" Clemon – synth (tracks: 1–3, 5–9),

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s (track 6) * Carmen J. Camerieri – horns (tracks: 2, 3, 9) *Derrick Lee – Hammond B-3 (tracks: 1, 3, 10),

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

(tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10), piano (tracks: 3, 5–9), chorus arrangement (track 3) *Jacob Hanson – guitar (track 3) *Alistair Sung – cello (tracks: 3–5, 7) * Sam Amidon –

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

(track 4) Technicals * Ryan Olson –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

*Mark Nevers – engineering, mixing *Zack Pancoast – assistant engineering *

Robert Weston Robert Weston (c.1515 – 20 May 1573) was an English civil lawyer, who was Dean of the Arches and Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Life Robert Weston was the seventh son of John Weston (c. 1470 - c. 1550), a trades ...

– mastering *David McMurry – photography *Daniel Kent – design, layout *Ryan Hover – design, layout

References

External links

''Sorry You Couldn't Make It''
at Bandcamp * {{Authority control 2020 albums Swamp Dogg albums Joyful Noise Recordings albums