JD SOUTHER: YOU’RE ONLY LONELY

The great JD Souther is one of the elite bunch of singer-songwriters based in the fertile Los Angeles community of the late 60’s and early 70’s who enjoyed massive success – but not in his own right.

As composer of such all-time classics as Best Of My Love, New Kid In Town and Prisoner In Disguise, Souther probably doesn’t have to worry about his pension fund. Indeed, in recent years, Souther has made a belated return to the recording fray by way of albums such as 2011’s Natural History, where he re-recorded several of his compositional classics.

This release from 1979, You’re Only Lonely, gifted Souther with his only US hit single in the shape of the title track, and roped in several of his Californian-based co-stars to help him out – the likes of John SebastianWaddy Wachtel, Don Felder, as well as great sessioneers such as Tom Scott, David Sanborn and Rick Marotta.

It’s an excellent collection of late 70’s pop and rock styles, with Bakersfield honky-tonk pastiches and excursions into fifties rock and roll as well as the breezy Californian rock that was his principle medium, with his typically craftsman approach well to the fore.