
Eddie Floyd (left) pictured with Steve Cropper.
Knock On Wood (1967)
Knock On Wood/Something You Got/But It’s Alright/I Stand Accused/If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody/I Don’t Want To Cry/Raise Your Hand/Got To Make A Comeback/634 - 5789/I’ve Just Been Feeling Bad/High Heel Sneakers/Warm And Tender Love
In the sixties, soul music albums were often merely vehicles for singles, populated with throwaway “filler” along with these copper-bottomed hits. This was certainly true, but this album was not one of them. It is overflowing with great Southern soul songs - gritty, earthy but catchy Stax-style soul at its very best. The sound quality, for 1967, is outstanding - bassy, thumping and featuring nice stereo separation. Amazingly, this was Floyd’s debut album. What a fine one it was too. The musicians were Booker T & The MGs, with Isaac Hayes adding extra keyboards and piano, so that gave it a head start.
Knock On Wood is, of course, well-known. Covered live by David Bowie in 1974, it is a glorious helping of Memphis horn-powered kick ass soul with a catchy hook of a chorus.
Something You Got is slightly slower but has a dignified sound to it. Once again the horns play a big part, as does the bluesy piano. But It’s Alright is just upliftingly wonderful, full of lively pop/funk rhythm, killer horns, fatback drums and a great vocal from Eddie.
I Stand Accused, later covered by Isaac Hayes, is a perfect slow soul ballad.
If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody is mined from the same seam.
The tempo ups again on the lively I Don’t Want To Cry and then Raise Your Hand, memorably covered live by Bruce Springsteen in the mid-eighties. Southside Johnny and Steve Van Zandt will have loved stuff like this as they grew up.
Songwriter/guitarist Steve Cropper, from Booker T & The MGs, contributed to many of these songs, both writing and guitar playing, you can tell. His influence is all over the album.
Got To Make A Comeback is a slower but no less appealing number, and Wilson Pickett’s 634 - 5789 is just superb. Just check out those horns breaks - Southside Johnny would use those to great effect from 1976 onwards.
The tempo ups again on the lively I Don’t Want To Cry and then Raise Your Hand, memorably covered live by Bruce Springsteen in the mid-eighties. Southside Johnny and Steve Van Zandt will have loved stuff like this as they grew up.
Songwriter/guitarist Steve Cropper, from Booker T & The MGs, contributed to many of these songs, both writing and guitar playing, you can tell. His influence is all over the album.
Got To Make A Comeback is a slower but no less appealing number, and Wilson Pickett’s 634 - 5789 is just superb. Just check out those horns breaks - Southside Johnny would use those to great effect from 1976 onwards.
I’ve Just Been Feeling Bad is a marvellous heartbreaker with another impressive, moving vocal.
High Heel Sneakers is a cover, of course, but Floyd enthusiastically does the Tommy Tucker song justice. I guess covering something like this could be accused of being filler, but it is done so well that Floyd and his team get away with it.
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