E-mail Me! Click Here!
Louisville Music News.net
April 1994 Articles
Cover Story
Rick Mattingly
Features
Staff
Mark Clark
Mark Clark
Paul Moffett
Columns
Berk Bryant
Jim Galipeau
Jan Winders
Paul Moffett
Keith Clements
Todd Hildreth
Darrell Elmore
Duncan Barlow
Elaine Ford
Alan Rhody
CD Reviews
Kory Wilcoxson
Bob Bahr
Kory Wilcoxson
Kevin Gibson
Kevin Gibson
John Goodin
Allen Howie
Allen Howie
Bob Bahr
Allen Howie
Kory Wilcoxson
Kevin Gibson
Kevin Gibson
Kevin Gibson
Performance Reviews
Bill Ede
Jean-Marie Ebel
Berkley Harrington, Jr.
Mark Clark
Jean Metcalfe
William Brents
Interviews
Allen Howie
Mark Clark
Jan Winders
Calendar
Staff
News Item
Staff
Preview
Staff
Bob Bahr
Opinion
Staff
Errata
Staff
Photos
Letha Marshall
LASC
Staff
Madison Steele
Staff
Jean Metcalfe
Bookmark Louisville Music News.net with these handy
social bookmarking tools:
del.icio.us digg
StumbleUpon spurl
wists simpy
newsvine blinklist
furl blogmarks
yahoo! myweb smarking
ma.gnolia segnalo
reddit fark
technorati cosmos
Available RSS Feeds
Top Picks - Top Picks
Top Picks - Today's Music
Top Picks - Editor's Blog
Top Picks - Articles
Add Louisville Music News' RSS Feed to Your Yahoo!
Add to My Yahoo!
Contact: contact@louisvillemusicnews.net
Louisville, KY 40207
Copyright 1989-2024
Louisvillemusicnews.net, Louisville Music News, Inc.
All Rights Reserved  


Issue:April 1994 Year: 1994
this one

capturing that classic soul feel

The Muscle Shoals Sound (Rhino)
Various Artists

Unlike Detroit, Philadelphia or Memphis, the sound of tiny Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was less a style than a feel, the unerring ability of a handful of producers and session players to adapt to a variety of performers and styles, capturing some of those performers' finest moments.

The Muscle Shoals Sound offers 18 examples, including classics like Arthur Alexander's seminal "You Better Move On," Percy Sledge's titanic "When a Man Loves a Woman," Wilson Pickett's lurid "Mustang Sally," Arthur Conley's percolating "Sweet Soul Music" and Aretha's transcendent "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)."

But the slightly lesser-known gems here hold their own against those monster hits: Etta James' brassy "Tell Mama," "Patches" and "Slip Away" by Clarence Carter, R.B. Greaves' spicy "Take a Letter Maria," and Mel and Tim's "Starting All Over Again," (written by Louisvillian Prince Phillip Mitchell) later a hit for Hall and Oates.

But my personal favorites are two songs that showcase both the artists and the Muscle Shoals musicians at their peaks. Pickett's majestic "Hey Jude," recorded at the urging of guitarist Duane Allman, who plays on the track, displaced the Beatles' own version on the pop charts. The other is the sublime "I'll Take You There" by the Staples Singers, as sweet and seductive a song as has ever been recorded.

Add in Rhino's typically thorough liner notes, and aficionados of soul music will find The Muscle Shoals Sound indispensable.

Bookmark and Share