Dan Penn: Do Right Man (Sire)
Penn is a legend and his songs were hits and many now are classics.
Look at the songwriting credits on virtually any '60s or early-'70s soul album, and you'll see the name Dan Penn. Penn is a legend and his songs were hits and many now are classics. This, his second album (his first, Nobody's Fool recorded in '73 is a collector's item) contains many of those classics: "Dark End of the Street," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," "You Left the Water Running" and "I'm Your Puppet" which were hits by the likes of Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and James and Bobby Purify among others.
On this album Penn is backed by a crew of absolute legends such as guitarists Reggie Young and Jimmy Johnson; keyboardist Spooner Oldham, David Briggs and Bobby Emmons; bassist, David Hood and drummer Roger Hawkins.
Not so surprising is the fact that Penn can sing. OK, he doesn't wail like Sledge or scream like Pickett, but he has a laid-back, never overdoing it style that recalls such other under acknowledged southern rockers as Tony Joe White, Bobby Charles and Russell Smith. Even better is the fact that he can still write. "Cry Like a Man," "Memphis Women and Chicken" and "Zero Willpower" are right up there with the classics. If your a fan of soul and if you are you know these songs, you owe it to yourself to get this album and hope Dan Penn makes another one like it real fast.
Penn made Memphis and Muscle Shoals soul sound brilliant.