Don Nix may not be a household name, but for serious fans of 1960s and '70s music, he is an important figure as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. He also looms large in his hometown of Memphis' musical history.
Nix was a member of the legendary
Mar-Keys and played saxophone on the hit "Last Night." He produced records at Stax (including
Delaney & Bonnie's
Home) and, while at Ardent, he wrote "Going Down" for
Freddie King (later covered by
Jeff Beck and
Stevie Ray Vaughan quite successfully).
Nix played on and arranged a boatload of records. He was on the
Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour, and arranged the choir for
George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh.
Living by the Days was his second album of 1971 and appeared on Elektra. His first, In God We Trust, was released by
Leon Russell's Shelter Records. Recorded at Muscle Shoals, its lineup includes Donald "Duck" Dunn, Barry Beckett, David Hood,
Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins,
Claudia Lennear, and Kathi McDonald. From the opener "The Shape I'm In" (not the
Robbie Robertson tune, but
Nix's own) he wrote or co-wrote everything but the tepid cover of
Hank Williams' "I Saw the Light"), "She Don't Want a Lover (She Just Needs a Friend)," and closer "My Train's Done Come and Gone," which sound somewhat similar to the music
the Band was making. Gospel, loose Southern gothic funkiness, and roots rock all commingle, but
Nix's plaintive voice is drenched in authenticity. (And no disrespect to
the Band, but the musicians here are on a wholly different -- higher -- level.) Stomping Southern R&B and early Memphis rock & roll fuel "Olena," and one can hear more than a trace of the sounds that
the Rolling Stones would "borrow" on
Sticky Fingers (on which
Lennear also appeared). One can hear the influence of
Russell on the honky tonk gospel of "Three Angels." Despite the shortcomings of "I Saw the Light" (
Furry Lewis' opening narration is priceless),
Nix and the Memphis bluesman were quite close. "Going Back to Luka" begins as a conventional electric blues but becomes a tribute to "Mystery Train," with great slide guitar work and a popping, funky bassline. While
Living by the Days is very much a record of its time, it is from an era that has proven timeless in appeal to subsequent generations of rock fans.
Living by the Days is well worth seeking out as one of the more obscure offerings issued by a major in 1971. ~ Thom Jurek