O.V. Wright - The 45's

Normally a collection of a Hi Records artist's singles would be a must-have, but the brilliant and frequently underrated O.v. Wright is an exception. Arguably the greatest deep soul singer nobody knows about (and many who do know his work insist he was better than Otis Redding), Wright took his Southern gospel background into secular territory with a string of incendiary singles in the early '70s for Don Robey's Back Beat Records. The best of these ("Ace of Spades," "A Nickel and a Nail," "I Can't Take It," "I'd Rather Be Blind, Crippled and Crazy") were produced by Willie Mitchell, who drafted in the stellar Hi Rhythm Section to help out, but wisely left Wright's rough and ready gospel vocal approach as is, resulting in soul that is deep (and as dangerous) as the deep blue sea. Read More