“Take the Highway.” They even brought in cur- rent MTB member Marcus Henderson to play flute. There are a pair of Wet Willie classics, in- cluding Willie’s version of Little Milton’s “Grits Ain’t Groceries” and their Top 40 smash “Keep On Smilin,” done as a duet with Willie front man Jimmy Hall, with soulful backing vocals from Smokes regular background singers, the Black Bettys. Jimmy takes it to church! Smoke kick out the jams with a seriously
rocking cover of Little Richard’s “Southern Child,” before heading into the home stretch with a pair of Allman Brothers classics, “Revival” and “Midnight Rider.” Great stuff, all the way around. This one begs for repeat listenings. I can dig it.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Dan Penn Living On Mercy (The Last Record Com- pany) Dan Penn is truly leg-
endary. It’s a title that gets tossed around a lot, especially by me, but in this case, it rings true. Ab-
solutely. From his writing back in the ‘60’s with Spooner Oldham and Chips Moman, classics like “I’m Your Puppet,” “Do Right Woman,” “The Dark End of the Street” and “Cry Like a Baby” through this new collection, his songwriting and singing has always been great, and at the age of 78, he shows no signs of slowing down. For that, we should all be grateful Living On Mercy, his first solo album in
26 years, is a compilation of older, unreleased songs mixed with newer material. The title track walks the thin line between soul and gospel. The tune was co-written with Wayne Carson (“Always On My Mind,” “The Letter”) Carson passed away in 2015, so the release of the song stands as a liv- ing tribute to a friend and collaborator. And speaking of collaborators, Penn enlists a slew of A-list writers to work with on this outing- besides Carson, he worked with long time musical part- ner Spooner Oldham, Gary Nicholson, Carson Whitsett, Will McFarlane, Bucky Lindsey, Buzz Cason and the Catre Brothers. I know sometimes I sound like a broken
record, but I like what I like. There is not a bad track on this album, from the soulful “Clean Slate” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” to the beautiful love song “I Do.” “Down on Music Row” is another instant classic, and anybody who has ever tried to make it as a songwriter in Nashville will immediately identify with the lyrics, espe- cially if you are a writer of a certain age who is not writing for the fashionable current trend. “Soul Connection” brings to mind the by-
gone days of AM soul music and “Things Hap- pen” is an honest look at life’s disappointments, ups and downs. The players are all smoking, in- cluding a hot lead guitar and a horn section. All good R&B needs a tight horn section! The horns get a work out on “Edge of Love.” Recorded both in Muscle Shoals and in
Nashville, the contributors include Milton Sledge on drums; Michael Rhodes on bass; Will McFar- lane on guitar and Clayton Ivey on keys. Penn was quoted as saying Living on
Mercy is his best work ever, and we must agree. As he approaches 80 years of age, Dan Penn sounds fresher than ever. This collection of tunes may be the best album to come out during this crazy year. It is certainly a bright light in the darkness.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Grayson Capps South Front Street (Royal Potato Family) The first time I ever heard of Grayson Capps was when I saw the excellent film Love Song for Bobby Long, which is also the title of one of his best songs, in-
cluded on this 16-song retrospective. The ac- claimed Alabama singer-songwriter made a fan of me for life with that one song, but the more I heard from him, the more I loved the rest of his music.
The compilation was lovingly assembled
by Capp’s wife and producer Trina Shoemaker. In the album’s liner notes, Shoemaker explains: “I began this as a personal compilation that I se- quenced for myself. It is a collection of songs that
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