Dan Penn...Nobody's Fool....Orig Bell LP 1973
$
116
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Description
This is Dan Penn...Nobody's Fool...Bell Records 1127 LP 1973
Songwriter/producer Dan Penn has been a quiet force behind Southern soul music for over thirty years. Always moving just out of view of the limelight, Penn has produced and written hits for the Box Tops, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin and Ronnie Milsap, among others.
Originally from Vernon, Alabama, Penn began his career as a performer, leading several white R&B bands around the Muscle Shoals area. Achieving early success by selling a hit song to Conway Twitty ("Is a Bluebird Blue?"), the songwriter eventually moved to Memphis, joining producer Chips Moman at his American Studios. Together the two, along with Penn's writing partner, organist Spooner Oldham, wrote and/or produced several hits for the Box Tops, such as "The Letter" and "Cry Like a Baby," throughout the late '60s. Dan Penn has written many great soul songs -- the problem is, he didn't keep any for this album. It's fine, as far as it goes, but it just doesn't go far enough, as you can tell when a cover of John Fogerty's "Lodi" becomes the most soulful thing here. To be fair, soul and country are cousins under the skin, and Penn does have his country touches, but the countrypolitan "I Hate You" -- which sounds like Charlie Rich with a bad case of middle-of-the-roaditis -- is just over the top, maudlin sentimentality. "Prayer For Peace" fares a little better, but in comparison to his classic compositions, it's hippie-dippy drivel that never gets to the core of emotions, the way Penn can at his very best (and the overblown backing vocals don't help either). And the spoken-word closer, "Skin," with its string accompaniment, is the kind of thing to make any soul fan cringe in sheer embarrassment. Even at its best, on the Philly-style "Raining In Memphis," this sounds geared more for the nightclub (or a Paul McCartney album outtake) than the gritty dancefloor. Not the man at the peak of his form.
Cover: VG with some corner and edge wear, factory shrink ....see pic
Vinyl: VG with several fine hairline and surface scratches scratches.... some new gloss shine, plays and sounds good
Tracks include: Nobody's Fool, Time, Lodi, I Hate You, Skin....+ 6 others
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