A recording project began in the fall of 2000 of fourteen new and previously unreleased songs written by South Louisiana Legend Joe Barry.  The album was finally completed at the beginning of 2003.  Titled Been Down That Muddy Road, the project was a labor of love for both Joe and his local producers, Pershing Wells and Michael Vice, as well as executive producer Aaron Fuchs of Night Train International Records based in New York City.  The tracks were recorded without the luxury of going into a typical recording studio.  Three digital audio workstations were used in the tracking process.  The legendary R & B band, the Blue Eyed Soul Revue, (who has backed up Percy Sledge, Ernie K-Doe, Jean Knight and countless other New Orleans R & B stars), was chosen to play on all the tracks.  Rhythm and horn sections were cut "wherever it was convenient and accommodating."   Joe's vocals were recorded in bits and pieces at his home in Cut Off.  The recording, editing, and mixing process was done by Pershing Wells using computer software. 

Producer Pershing Wells explained the process of getting the album done: "Michael Vice and I would go to Joe's home in Cut Off with an eight-track recorder.  We would hang a mic up somewhere in front of Joe to get the track.  Joe would sing one of his songs accompanying himself on the guitar.   Most of the time it was "pieced" together as Joe couldn't sing the entire song in one take.  There were a lot of stops and re-starts.  I would then take the song back to my studio and "sketch" it (using a sequencer) to create the order of the song (Intro, verse, chorus, bridge, etc).  I always listened intently to what Joe was doing to make certain I was taking the song in his direction.  I then brought it to the band to cut the rhythm track.  (By this time it was evolved enough for everyone to know what direction Joe wanted to go).  Most of the time we would go back to Cut Off and get Joe's approval of the track (which he always dug) and then go back and cut the horn parts.  After all the tracks were complete, we would go back to Joe's home and get the final vocal.  I then worked on the final mix.  The process took a very long time.  Regardless, hanging out with Joe was an awesome experience.  He always had a great story to tell.  ...and he did a beautiful job of putting those stories to song."

Despite the "piecing together" of the project, the album is extremely well done (see press reviews on this web site) and has earned Joe a whole new audience apart from his already strong following in the Swamp Pop world.  The superb songwriting ranks Joe among the best writers of American music.  This is a must have recording.

Born Joseph Barrios, 13 July 1939, Cut Off, Louisiana, USA. Barry was one of the best-known disseminators of a specialized style of early rock 'n' roll peculiar to Louisiana that later came to be called "swamp pop". Like many swamp pop artists, Barry was a Cajun (the local term for French-American). In his youth he performed in Cajun music bands, and in 1956 made his first rock 'n' roll recordings. Barry's first record to garner recognition, albeit local, was "Greatest Moment Of My Life" in 1960. His "I'm A Fool To Care" (number 24 pop) in 1961 was a national hit and an archetypal swamp pop record, being a slow, melancholic ballad heavily influenced by R&B. It entered the UK chart in 1961 at number 49. Barry had one other national hit, "Teardrops In My Heart" (number 63 pop), also from 1961. Barry continued to enjoy local success for several more years, but in 1967 ended his full-time career in the music business, thereafter making only occasional forays into the recording scene. The most ambitious enterprise took place in 1976, when he recorded in Houston under producer Huey P. Meaux an entire album of country ballads, Joe Barry, that did not reflect his swamp pop roots. The country audience liked it, however. In 1980 Barry independently recorded an album of religious songs, Sweet Rose Of Sharon.