Wilson Pickett's 11th and final album for the Atlantic label is yet another example of why the ultimate pop-soul singer was not only a consistent hitmaker time after time, but was able to adapt and change with the times, covering tunes a lesser singer wouldn't dare try. By the occasion of this 1971 date, disco was starting to rear its head, and
Pickett picked up on the trend while still retaining his native Alabama and longtime Detroit roots. After many years working with bands from the Motor City or Memphis, the singer had just collaborated with the Kenneth Gamble/
Leon Huff team in Philadelphia, then returned here to record at the legendary
Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama, bringing string arranger
Wade Marcus, background vocal arranger
Dave Crawford, Detroit session guitarist nonpareil
Dennis Coffey (misspelled Coffee on the credits), and the
Memphis Horns. As he was not much of a songwriter in this latter period of his career,
Pickett was fond of covering tunes done by British or American rockers and friends from the Southern soul scene, hoping a couple of them would stick on the charts, which they usually did.
Pickett's two-part title track is half funky rock & roll, half weird synth-drizzled disco instrumental, all with an out-of-tune electric bass guitar from
David Hood, though qualified with the lyric "if you don't like it, don't knock it." The slow-burning "Hot Love" showcases the most action from the potent horn section over amorous lyric references,
Marcus and
Crawford exploit the strings and female vocal backup on the ballad "Pledging My Love," while the anti-climactic "Woman Let Me Be Down Home" is listless lyrically and musically. The highlights include a version of "Fire & Water" originally done by
Paul Rodgers (and co-composer
Andy Fraser) of
Free before the singer headed up
Bad Company.
Pickett jumps headfirst into this classic rock tune-turned-soulful song loaded up with clavinet sounds -- it would have been a kick to hear the wicked one cover
Free's other big hit, "The Stealer."
Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me Not to Come" from the book of
Three Dog Night, is so much better in the soul sender's hands, almost campy and somewhat humorous.
Stevie Wonder's minor hit, "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover," is done in
Pickett's comfort zone similar to his big Philly-based hit "Engine Engine #9," OK in this instance, but not spectacular, instead more watered down. The hardest-driving numbers are "A Mighty Long Way" featuring
Pickett's harmonica playing, and the straight pop-funk of "Call My Name, I'll Be There" with a somewhat cliché lyric post-
Damita Jo or
the Jackson Five, with
Coffey's thorny guitar as a focal point. "Covering the Same Old Ground" is the downhearted blues
Pickett was always capable of doing, but is marred by the syrupy strings. A high point on every track is the spot-on drumming of
Roger Hawkins and keyboardist
Barry Beckett, nuclei of the true
Muscle Shoals sound. This is a recording yielding mixed results, and considering this is the end of his initial prime period as a top drawer R&B icon, understandable that it's not his best, even though there are many redeeming moments for his still great vocal talent. ~ Michael G. Nastos