Tony Joe White returns for just two dates in NZ, on the way back home from the Byron Bay Festival in Australia to support his most recent release, "Uncovered". "Uncovered" features Tony Joe White at his finest. The album features dear friends of the timeless musician; each of these visitors himself an icon.

These featured musicians include Mark Knopfler, who's playing dovetails with Tony Joe on "Not One Bad Thought." Eric Clapton follows on "Did Somebody Make a Fool Out of You," finding a different perspective yet also providing A perfect complement to White. On "Baby, Dont Look Down" Michael McDonald proves once again why he is the outstanding blue-eyed soul crooner of our time.

The elusive J. J. Cale snakes through the prowling groove of "Louvelda.

" Most notably on this album is the late Waylon Jennings, who joins Tony Joe for a timeless performance of the previously unrecorded, "Shakin the Blues," in one of Waylon's final studio appearances. Add legendary Memphis Horns to a couple of tracks and you've exceeded the hero's quota for any one album. Even with the amazing addition of these artists, the focus here stays tight on Tony Joe.

The tracks, most of them cut late at night at his studio south of Nashville, are raw and rough, as they should be. Emotions overflow in his vocals, spilling from each melody like rivers washing out their banks: sensual on "Run for Cover", defiant on "Rebellion", and enlightened by life's painful lessons in "Taking the Midnight Train". On "Keeper of the Fire" he pulls heat from the embers of blues and sings it softly back, like pictures blown in smoke.

And he delivers, at long last, the definitive recording of his classic "Rainy Night in Georgia", in one flawless take. These performances are the culmination of a lifetime spent in music. A breathy lifetime of swampy blues.