Wilson Pickett
The Exciting Wilson Pickett

Naaa Nananana Nananana Nanana Nana Nananana! If I were a cryptic reviewer, I could end it like this.

The name of the artist, the musicians, and the presence of at least two timeless classics among the 12 tracks should complete the necessary information to entice the reader to listen to the work. But there is something more that deserves commentary and makes this album a milestone in the history of music.

“Hey, hey, hey, tell me Wilson Pickett

Hey, hey, hey, tell me you James Brown

Where do you find this voice?”

So sang Nino Ferrer in 1968 (“Vorrei la pelle nera”) and, indeed, these two are among the protagonists of the Soul genre of the '60s, alongside legends like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke, Smokey Robinson, and Ray Charles. On the foundations they built, new masters will emerge such as Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, and Sly Stone, skilled in updating the classic soul formula to the political, social, and sentimental suggestions of the early seventies, but that’s another story.

And, if in the case of Brown, there are many proofs that have made him a legend, for the boy from Prattville, Alabama, one work stands above all production to confirm his rightful place in the Olympus of soul music: “The Exciting Wilson Pickett”.

Despite the success achieved in the singles market, in 1963 with “If You Need Me” and “It's Too Late” and in 1965 with “In The Midnight Hour”, the two previous albums failed to meet expectations, so much so that the title track of the second album will find its way again into the third work we are discussing.

Released by Atlantic Records in August 1966, it features numerous tracks released as singles that entered the U.S. rhythm and blues and pop charts, that is, music listened to by both blacks and whites because, at the time, the two circuits were clearly separated. But history was changing things even if, what is now clearly perceived as a revolution, at the time was almost an unconscious phenomenon for the artists who were protagonists of it.

Moreover, the work stands out for being among the first productions with a black singer and mostly white musicians, but let's take it step by step.

Pickett began recording at Stax in Memphis in May 1965 and, by December, completed the first five tracks of side B, all original compositions he had written in collaboration with Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper, Homer Banks, and David Porter. The musicians involved are essentially members of Booker T. & the M.G.’s but without Booker T and with Isaac Hayes in his place (thus, two whites and two blacks).

For subsequent sessions, Pickett would not return to Stax; the label's owner, Jim Stewart, no longer permitted external productions from December 1965 onwards. Thus, Jerry Wexler (one of the producers of the work) brought Pickett to a recording studio in a repurposed tobacco warehouse in nearby Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the Fame.

One reason for Fame's success, amid strong competition from studios in other cities, was that it disregarded the issue of race. It was a dangerous time, but the studio was a safe haven where blacks and whites could work together in musical harmony.

Initially, returning to Alabama was frustrating for Wilson who hadn’t forgotten the hardships he suffered as a child at the hands of his mother (!) that led him to join his father in Detroit in 1955. But, as usual, music put everything right, and the rapport with the session musicians (all white, except for Andrew Love and Floyd Newman) at Fame quickly made everything else pale in comparison.

There are probably sound differences between the two recording sessions, but a layman like me can’t really say which song is Stax made or Fame made without looking at the cover notes.

It’s certain that both teams were among the tightest bands potentially able to steal the scene from any given singer. But Pickett, with his powerful voice and ruthless grit, brands the performances fiercely, resulting in one of the greatest soul albums of the era.

As you let the tracks play, you notice that Wilson is indeed a friendly gentleman but becomes rather irritable if you remain seated. He has more the soul of a gritty rocker than a mellow soul singer: he can be polite and speak softly to women, but he prefers to drag everyone into a dancing frenzy.

Even if a couple of titles are markedly more famous (“Land of 1000 Dances” and “Midnight Hour”), don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a couple of hits in a sea of fillers: the record is frightfully consistent and doesn't allow a single moment to catch your breath.

Until the late '70s, Wilson Pickett built a more than honorable career, even though his innovative limits eventually drained his musical content.

However, his impact in the mid-60s is crucial for the evolution not only of Soul but of popular music in general, anticipating that blend of artists that would become the bedrock for future musical production both beyond and within the Atlantic.

Side A

1. Land of 1000 Dances – 2:23 (Chris Kenner) – Recorded at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 8-11 May 1966
2. Something You Got – 2:50 (Chris Kenner) – Recorded at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 8-11 May 1966
3. 634-5789 – 2:52 (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd) – Recorded at Memphis, Tennessee, 20 December 1965
4. Barefootin' – 2:16 (Robert Parker) – Recorded at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 8-11 May 1966
5. Mercy, Mercy – 2:25 (Don Covay, Ronald Miller) – Recorded at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 8-11 May 1966
6. You're so Fine – 2:30 (Lance Finney, Bob West, Willie Schofield) – Recorded at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 8-11 May 1966

Side B

1. In the Midnight Hour – 2:29 (Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper) – Recorded at Memphis, Tennessee, 12 May 1965
2. Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do) – 2:35 (Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd) – Recorded at Memphis, Tennessee, 20 December 1965
3. Danger Zone – 2:06 (Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper) – Recorded at Memphis, Tennessee, 16 September 1965
4. I'm Drifting – 2:49 (Wilson Pickett, Homer Banks, David Porter) – Recorded at Memphis, Tennessee, 20 December 1965
5. It's All Over – 2:17 (Wilson Pickett, Steve Cropper) – Recorded at Memphis, Tennessee, 16 September 1965
6. She's so Good to Me – 2:15 (Bobby Womack) – Recorded at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, 8-11 May 1966