Deep Tracks 67

1. Precious Lord – Mike Farris

2. Trouble In Mind – Merle Haggard

3. Stocking Cap – Sir Edward

4. A Lonely Walk – Albert Malawi

5. Justin Townes Earle – Halfway to Jackson

6. Function at the Junction – Shorty Long

7. Frequency Response – Messengers Incorporated

8. Feelin’ Alright - Junior Walker

9. The Captain and Me – The Doobie Brothers

10. One Night Affair – Seldon Powell

11. Song For Everyman – The Rotary Connection

12. The Golden Road – Phil Lesh & Friends

13. Holding On – The Isley Brothers

14. Honky Tonk Nighttime Man – Merle Haggard

15. You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones

16. I’ve Been Lonely For So Long – Fredrick Knight

17. Old Time Religion – Golden

18. Lying on the Truth - Rance Allen Group

http://rapidshare.com/files/269945718/Deep_Tracks_67.zip

Merle Haggard is so good he actually appears twice on this one. I think these tracks are taken from his outstanding tribute to Jimmie Rogers. Both men were great American songwriters and characters. Rogers was close to a number of blues men near his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi including Muddy Waters who grew up in a small house about a mile from Rogers. The influence of the blues on country is evident and it is apparent that there were many commonalities in the lives of poor rural blacks and whites. As these tracks makes manifest, Haggard had embraced these blues too and I suspect that growing up in Bakersfield in the 40's and 50's poor was much like living in the South at that time.

Sir Edward was a one off band on Bernard Purdie's Encounter Records led by tenor player Harold Vick. I thought this was an interesting jam and while Vick is clearly not comfortable with all of the dynamics offered by the electric sax, it still sounds cool.

Jr. Walker and the Allstars were a great band that thrived at the edges of pop, soul, and Motown. This is a great version of the oft covered Traffic classic Feelin' Alright.

I don't think the Isley Brothers have ever released a shitty record. Even doing over produced disco they sounded good. Of course, I prefer the harder stuff and they offer it in spades.

Fredrick Knight was a stax producer and A&R man who could also bang out an insanely good falsetto. This track is from the legendary Wattstax concert in South Central LA celebrating Soul Power. Ten of thousands of people packed the LA Coliseum to see among others WAR, Albert King, The Staple Singers, Willie Bobo, Richard Pryor, Issac Hayes, and others. Wow.