I'm a Fool to Care (Remastered) - Single

After years out of print, Cajun rocker Joe Barry's recordings earned several reissues in the late '90s and early 2000s, on such British labels as Edsel and Music Club, suggesting that some legal impediment had been overcome, or someone was suddenly interested in licensing them. The most ambitious of these reissues was Night Train's double-CD I'm a Fool to Care: The Complete Recordings 1958-1977 (not to be confused with Music Club's budget-set I'm a Fool to Care: Classic Performances from the 1960s). "I'm a Fool to Care" was Barry's sole Top 40 pop hit in 1961. (Its follow-up, "Teardrops in My Heart," also charted). With its piano triplets, and Barry's southern Louisiana accent, it was strongly reminiscent of Fats Domino, and that influence was heard on many of Barry's subsequent recordings made for local labels, and sometimes picked up for national distribution, notably by Mercury Records' Smash subsidiary. Barry also recorded under the pseudonyms Roosevelt Jones and Tee C. Bee, as he moved to Huey Meaux's Crazy Cajun label, and continued to record through the mid-'60s. The collection traces the decline of his recording career during that decade, including both stray recordings — some in a more country vein — and even unreleased demos. From 1968 to 1976, Barry stayed away from the recording studio entirely, only returning to make a self-titled, country-styled album for ABC/Dot Records that is included here in its entirety, and brings the compilation to a close. (Extensive liner notes tell the singer's life story well). By pulling together all of this rare material, Night Train does not quite succeed in making the case that Barry is one of the great lost masters of rock & roll, but it does demonstrate that he was a wasted talent who deserved much better than the part-time career he was able to achieve.