Steve Cropper - Dedicated - A Salute To The 5 Royales (2011) [gnodde]

Steve Cropper - Dedicated - A Salute To The 5 Royales



Steve Cropper, of course, has long been celebrated as one of the inventors of the Stax sound and the writer or co-writer of several R&B classics. He broke through to general recognition, after a highly successful career, as one of the guitarists for the original Blues Brothers. However, he's never really broken out as a guitar hero in the same way as Hendrix, Clapton, or even Frank Zappa. He is a collaborator par excellence, and here he works with the likes of Delbert McClinton, Bettye Lavette, Sharon Jones, B. B. King, Lucinda Williams, Steve Winwood, Brian May, et al., as well as a very tight band, including keyboard guy Spooner Oldham and Dap Kings sax player Neal Sugarman. This is soul (or in some cases rock) royalty.

The album pays tribute to Lowman Pauling, the engine of the legendary 5 Royales, both early influences on Cropper. As far as I'm concerned, there's not a weak track on the disc. It's also an "honest" production - no inflation, no pretension. You get all of these people doing what they do directly and cleanly, without the fooferaw of "production values." It's the difference between a Mercedes and a pimpmobile. You could almost be hearing them in a club. This is as close to the bone of R&B as it gets. I hope that the album will re-ignite interest in the 5 Royales themselves.

Tracks:
01 - Thirty Second Lover (ft. Steve Winwood)
02 - Don't Be Ashamed (ft. Bettye Lavette, Willie Jones)
03 - Baby Don't Do It (ft. B.B. King, Shemekia Copeland)
04 - Dedicated To The One I Love (ft. Dan Penn, Lucinda Williams)
05 - My Sugar Sugar (ft. John Popper)
06 - Right Around The Corner (ft. Delbert McClinton)
07 - Help Me Somebody (Instrumental)
08 - I Do (ft. Brian May)
09 - Messin' Up (ft. Sharon Jones)
10 - Say It (ft. Bettye Lavette)
11 - The Slummer The Slum (ft. Buddy Miller)
12 - Someone Made You For Me (ft. Dan Penn)
13 - Think (Instrumental)
14 - Come On & Save Me (ft. Dylan LeBlanc, Sharon Jones)
15 - When I Get Like This (ft. Lucinda Williams)

All in MP3 @ 320kbps