LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Overtime Man Leave Him Pts 1 & 2 I Stayed Away Too Long I Was Checking Out Hold You To Your Promise Memphis Pinch Hitters Somebody’s Been Enjoying My Home Bad Mouthing Money Don’t Step On A Man When He’s Down Bonus tracks Sweet Thang Daddy Please Don’t Go Out Tonight Why Did You Put Your Shoes Under My Bed Stop By Bad Luck Hitching A Ride The name of Don Covay may be familiar from major hits ‘Mercy Mercy’ and ‘SeeSaw’ from the golden age of mid-1960s Atlantic Records, but as that label moved towards the rock market in the early 70's, Covay moved on to continue recording his distinctive style of story-line soul songs, first with a solitary LP for Janus in 1970 followed by two LPs for Mercury released in 1973 and 1974, each containing a typical mixture of gospelly soul ballads and chunky, lyrical funk items. First up on Shout is the 1973 LP, “Super Dude 1”, reissued in its entirety, with as a bonus for the collectors the first tracks from the Janus LP (second Mercury LP plus the rest of the Janus material will follow on Shout soon). “Super Dude 1” was a landmark for Don Covay, released as a concept-album and gaining both critical approval and healthy sales. Some tracks were recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Studio in Alabama, with the punchy “Overtime Man” being typical southern funk, while “Leave Him” and “I Was Checkin' Out” are notable gems of deep soul balladry, and Don adds his own inimitable stamp to Chuck Berry's classic Memphis. The bonus tracks from Janus LP 'Different Strokes for Different Folks' likewise include a strong mix of ballads and funk. All the recordings have been unavailable for many years, and all are keenly-sought collectors' items, (with many enquiries on the Southern Soul lists) which fit splendidly into the profile and catalogue of Shout Records. These re-issues will be produced by Clive Richardson, whose career in music journalism began back in 1964 as president of the UK fan club for-.... Don Covay!!