''Compass Point'' is an album released by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

musician

David Allan Coe David Allan Coe (born September 6, 1939) is an American singer and songwriter. Coe took up music after spending much of his early life in reform schools and prisons, and first became notable for busking in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. He ini ...

. It was released in 1979 on Columbia.

Recording

Coe closed out the decade with his ninth album for Columbia. The songs, all Coe originals, sequence into the next, which was becoming a hallmark on his records. It was produced again by the team of Ron Bledsoe and

Billy Sherrill Billy Norris Sherrill (November 5, 1936 – August 4, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regar ...

. Thom Jurek of AllMusic contends, “With Bledsoe's gritty, in-your-face, performance-based approach and Sherrill's polish and sense of space and texture, they were able to balance all of the inherent contradictions in Coe's music, from the gorgeous balladry of ‘Gone,’ ‘Heads or Tails,’ and the elaborately arranged dark honky tonk of ‘Merle and Me’ (not Haggard) to the rocking bluegrass stomp of ‘Honey Don't’ and the boozy Tex-Mex swagger of ‘Lost.’” Musically, several of the songs on ''Compass Point'' look to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, with shuffling back-beats and breezy rhythms, such as on “Loving Her (Will Make You Lose Your Mind)” and the tongue-twisting closing track. Lyrically, Coe covers some of his favourite themes, such as crime and prison on “Three Time Loser” and “Merle and Me,” tunes that echo Coe’s own youth spent in jail and youth reformatories. “Honey Don’t” sounds like Coe striking back at anyone who would dare question his musical credentials (“I’ve been a roadie for Satan, honey/I was the sound man for the Devil…”) and includes the repeated line “Honey don’t you pull that shit on me,” a rare expletive on a major label country record at the time. Opener “Heads or Tails” ruminates on the chance nature of romance, with Coe singing the title in a

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

drawl.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

: "As a coda to a decade that went by in a blur of fame, success, madness, tragedy, and disappointment, Coe left it on a very high note with an album that looked brightly to the future."

Track listing

All Songs written by

. #"Heads or Tails" – 2:04 #"3 Time Loser" – 2:05 #"Gone (Like)" – 6:26 #"Honey Don't" – 2:54 #"Lost" – 3:33 #"Merle and Me" – 3:39 #"Loving Her (Will Make You Lose Your Mind)" – 1:54 #"The Fish Aren't Bitin' Today" – 3:08 #"X's and O's (Kisses and Hugs)" – 3:46

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Wesley Taylor, Mike Barton –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Dale Seigfreid –

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

* Alan Hicks –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Skeet Petty –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* George Heard –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

, Ron Bledsoe – producer

References

{{Authority control David Allan Coe albums 1979 albums Albums produced by Billy Sherrill Columbia Records albums