Local Customs: Lone Star Lowlands

Where the first volume in ' series focused on R&B, funk, gospel, and soul from small labels and a basement studio in Ecorse, MI, focuses on 's in Port Neches, TX, part of the States "Golden Triangle," that existed in between Port Arthur and Beaumont, located between Lake Charles, LA and Houston. 's studio, like so many of the offerings that passionately documents on its releases, was a hard-luck concern that recorded minor acts from the region between 1969 and 1972 when it shut its doors. The material ranges in form and genre but certainly has a sound. There's the folksy pop-psychedelia of and his more Texas songwriter-oriented pop on and the spacy, harder rocking from , and by . There is also the deeply -saturated influence on that almost directly rips the "doo-doo doo-dit-doot-doot-doo doo doot" of For the collector interested in obscurities, will no doubt provide CD versions of recordings issued on tiny regional labels. has done its usual exhaustive job in research, with a long liner essay by and , and did a stellar job of packaging with lots of rare photos, all packaged in a slip case box. [There is also a deluxe double-LP version of this set available.]~ Thom Jurek