Rocks In The Attic #1067: Wilson Pickett – ‘The Exciting Wilson Pickett’ (1966)

THE EXCITING WILSON PICKETT finds the soul superstar mid-way through his Memphis beginnings and his move to Muscle Shoals. Six tracks here were recorded with the usual Stax backing band (Steve Cropper, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr, Isaac Hayes, the Memphis Horns) in the same manner as his first two albums. Stax Records boss Jim Stewart then decided to stop ‘outside productions’ for non-Stax artists from December 1965, and so Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler took Pickett to Alabama to finish off the recordings.

The two big hits on this album are Land Of 1000 Dances and In The Midnight Hour, with the latter making its second appearance on a Pickett album after it being the title track of his previous LP. Less well known is the album’s second single, 634-5789 (a reference to the Marvelettes’ 1962 hit Beechwood 4-5789), but my favourite single off the record is Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do), written by Pickett and Cropper, and later covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival on their self-titled 1968 debut.

One odd thing about this LP, considering it was recorded in Tennessee and Alabama, is the mention of my UK hometown in the liner notes. Bob Rolontz writes: ‘Although Wilson’s fame, which reaches from Manchester (England) to Hollywood, has grown tremendously since the early 60’s, he has always retained the wonderful, emotionally satisfying soul style that first brought him to the attention of pop and R&B fans at home.’

Hit: In The Midnight Hour

Hidden Gem: She’s So Good To Me

Rocks In The Attic #1002: Primal Scream – ‘Give Out But Don’t Give Up – The Original Memphis Recordings’ (1993)

Even though Rocks and Jailbird are by far my favourite Primal Scream songs, I somehow managed to avoid hearing Give Out But Don’t Give Up, their parent album, ever since it came out in 1994. In retrospect, I’m glad I missed out.

The band’s initial idea for their follow-up to 1991’s genre-melding smash Screamadelica was to go and record an album with legendary soul producer Tom Dowd at Ardent Studios in Memphis. Given free reign by Alan McGee, the boss of Creation Records – the label they had helped build – they followed through with their plans. For added authenticity, they even drafted in the Muscle Shoals rhythm section of David Hood (bass) and Roger Hawkins (drums), and the Memphis Horns of Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson.

Those 1993 recordings were later deemed to be too flat and underwhelming, particularly in the light (and sound) of Creation’s brash new signing, Oasis. Black Crowes producer George Drakoulias was brought in to remix the album, with George Clinton also drafted in to produce several songs – including the forgettable Funky Jam – in a half-hearted attempt to hark back to the dance/dub ethos of Screamadelica.

In a further mishmash of ideas, they re-recorded one song with Benmont Tench from Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, and another song with Faces drummer Kenney Jones. “We were trying to fix a record that didn’t need fixing,’ guitarist Andrew Innes later said.

You can’t deny that Drakoulias’ cut of Rocks amps up the song into the hit that it became – thanks partly to his addition of the breakbeat sample from Sly & The Family Stone’s Dance To The Music – but it’s such a timeless song, who knows whether the original Ardent Studios recording would have been as successful.

Decades after the original 1993 sessions, Innes found a tape of the recordings in his basement and, amazed at how good it sounded, shared it with vocalist Bobby Gillespie. This set the ball rolling for a return trip to Memphis to master the record for release – this time without Tom Dowd, Andrew Love, Wayne Jackson and Primal Scream guitarist Robert ‘Throb’ Young who had all passed away in the intervening years. A BBC documentary crew filmed their return for the fascinating Primal Scream: The Lost Memphis Tapes.

The album finally saw the light of day in its intended form as Give Out But Don’t Give Up: The Original Memphis Recordings in October 2018. Although it’s been on my list to pick up ever since, I finally picked up this 3xLP set from Run Out Groove, which adds the Ardent outtakes for the first time on vinyl.

The eventual album is a joy from start to finish. Jailbird and Rocks might not have the thump of Drakoulias’ remixes, but there’s a swing here – and a degree of space – that is absent from the later versions. The record flits between a rock sound akin to Big Star, and a more authentic late ‘60s / early ‘70s soul feel.

The standout track for me is Free, a song sung not by Gillespie, but by the band’s much-lauded backing vocalist Denise Johnson – which, with the pedigree of Dowd, Hood and Hawkins, can be seen a well-intentioned attempt to capture some of the magic of Aretha Franklin.

I should get some more Primal Scream. I might even buy Screamadelica one day.

Hit: Rocks

Hidden Gem: Free

Rocks In The Attic #750: Aretha Franklin – ‘I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You’ (1967)

This is far from being Aretha Franklin’s debut album, but it feels like the start of something. Released in 1967, as the first album of her contract with Atlantic Records, it’s actually her tenth studio album following her true debut on Columbia back in 1961.

Jerry Wexler, co-partner of Atlantic alongside Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegün, must have been rubbing his hands with glee as he produced the title track with Aretha and the Muscle Shoals rhythm section at FAME studios in Alabama. That song would be strong enough to carry a record of lesser material – as seemed to be the norm throughout much of the 1960s, particularly with regard to soul and R&B releases – but Aretha was only just getting started.

The album kicks off with Respect, her cover of Otis Redding’s song from 1965’s Otis Blue. I seldom believe that a cover version can better the original, but Aretha’s version of the song completely eclipses Redding’s original. It’s so good, it makes his version sound like the weaker cover song.

Having recorded the song at Atlantic Records’ New York studios (but retaining the Muscle Shoals studio musicians), co-producer Arif Mardin is credited with overseeing Aretha’s rearranged version of the song. It’s clear that magic was being captured during the session. “I’ve been in many studios in my life, but there was never a day like that,” Mardin says. “It was like a festival. Everything worked just right.”

Fifty years on, the song has been diluted somewhat by its overuse in advertising commercials, films and TV shows, but I like to think that some of its original impact remains as an anthem for both the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements.

Hit: Respect

Hidden Gem: Save Me

Rocks In The Attic #110: Wilson Pickett – ‘Wilson Pickett In Philadephia’ (1970)

I found this in the sale racks at Real Groovy in Auckland. I figured it must be a relatively decent release as the record was brand new – indicating that it was a reissue – so I quickly surmised that the general bad taste of New Zealand record buyers had left it languishing in the ‘New Items’ racks for so long that the staff decided to put it in the sale racks. I held onto it until I got it out of the shop – and what a find!

This album represents Pickett’s first recording outside of the Deep South, and away from the familiarity of Memphis and Muscle Shoals. It has a slightly grittier and funkier sound than his earlier work, but it’s nicely held together by the studio band and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.

Hit: Help The Needy

Hidden Gem: Get Me Back On Time, Engine Number 9 (Part 1)