Search - Eddie Floyd :: Eddie Loves You

+1/2 - 1960s Stax soul shouter rejoins the reconstituted lab

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 08/03/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Floyd is best remembered for his 1967 hit single, "Knock on Wood," co-written with legendary Stax guitarist Steve Cropper. The like-titled album is a superb entry in the Stax catalog, featuring Floyd's soul shouts against the solid rhythm and punchy horns of the house band. Floyd landed additional singles on the R&B charts throughout the remainder of the 1960s, and crossed over to the pop chart again with an upbeat 1968 cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It on Home to Me." But as "Knock on Wood" developed into an oldies radio icon, Floyd's parallel success as a songwriter became obscured. His early years at Stax provided opportunities to write for Carla Thomas, William Bell and Wilson Picket (including the latter's smash "634-5789 (Soulsville, USA)"), and in rejoining the resurrected Stax label as a recording artist, he takes the opportunity to re-cut a number of titles originally penned for others.



Though Floyd's no longer the soul-shouting powerhouse of his early years, there is still considerable charm in his voice, often warbling soulfully in the vein of the recently passed Chris Gaffney. His material shows how unfairly his songwriting skills were overshadowed by his hit singles. The burnish in Floyd's voice is beautifully suited for the longing sadness of "Since You Been Gone," a late `50s demo tune by the Falcons that was never finished. Producers Michael Dinallo and Ducky Carlisle wrap Floyd's pained vocal in superb rolling tom-toms, bass, dripping lap steel, and loose call-and-response backing vocals. The Falcons' hit "You're So Fine" is also reworked here, hanging on to its essential doo-wop stroll even as the arrangement is amped up with electric guitars (including some misplaced slide work), piano and roadhouse drums.



"You Don't Know What You Mean to Me" retains the buoyant horn-lined sound of Sam & Dave's original, and several other tunes are given an even greater Stax treatment than in their original productions. Dorothy Moore's "I Don't Want To Be With Nobody But You" is shorn of its string-lined drama and given low bass and Cropper-like guitar for Floyd's quiet, soulful vocal, while "I Will Always Have Faith in You" is bumped up from Carla Thomas' pained gospel-tinged original into a hopeful mid-tempo number. Two earlier Floyd ballads, the pre-Stax "Never Get Enough of Your Love" and the Stax-era "Consider Me" provide opportunities for wonderfully emotional vocals, and a pair of new songs, the soulful "Close to You" and the straight blues "Head to Toe" show the ink in Floyd's pen still flowing gainfully.



Floyd's return to Stax, both physically in recording for the resuscitated label, and metaphysically in the arrangements and choice of material, is a winner. He doesn't sing with the strength of forty years ago, but he does sing with the same heart and soul. And with his producers crafting a contemporary sound that doesn't sacrifice the essential elements of the Stax heritage, the results wed retro emotion with modern sonics. This won't replace "Knock on Wood," but it's a treat to hear Floyd imaginatively reinterpreting his own songwriting. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]"

Hear for yourself the tasty sound samples

Jamie MacDonald | Boston, MA United States | 08/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Eddie Floyd is an excellent soul songwriter and wonderful song interpreter and the sound samples here sound very tasty, suggesting his talents are intact and that the production successfully showcases them.



The criticms of the one negative review seem churlish. Who'd expect a 73 year old man to retain the vocal timbre of his youthful salad days? As for conjecturing what might make a better disc, the negative reviewer unfairly fails to evaluates the disc on its own terms.



I expect I'll take my chances and purchase the CD."