A wonderful collection of 19 tracks recorded as songwriting demos. The songs are all delivered by a voice that someone once called 'the epitome of unbounded emotion'. A little Delbert McClinton meets James Brown, and kick it up a notch. 2000 release on Zane Records. Album Description
 |  | Essential Eddie Hinton Muscle Shoals Soul! |  |
Thanks to allmusic.com, I found out about Eddie Hinton and picked up this CD. This is simply a masterwork of soul music! If you're into southern soul, this is what you need. Tell your friends and neighbors as this CD is as good as soul music gets. Also, his earlier demos of "We Got It" and "Get Off In It" are better and rougher than the versions found on his "Very Extremely Dangerous" CD.
Absolutely fantastic stuff. Also, check out "Hard Luck Guy" and the other Zane reissues! Thank you Zane records!
September 19, 2008| | | OMG! Why had I never heard this voice before??? | |
It's beyond criminal that Eddie Hinton never had a hit record of his own: It's bloody tragic! Just listening to the samples on amazon lured me to this guy, thinking, 'oh, ok, kind of an Otis Redding voice.' Well, no, not really it isn't. Eddie's vocals are not polished to perfection as Otis's was, and the rough gravel of Hinton's conveys even greater nuance and shading than Redding's. If Otis ever moved you to tears, Eddie Hinton will (as Dan Penn sang) make you stand up and cry like a man. There is so much pain in his voice, there can be no doubt this man was a walking wounded heart. And yet those rousing, up-tempo numbers are so unabashedly joyful... What a gift was overlooked by the music industry when they let Eddie Hinton just drift away, what a horrible loss to all fans of the Muscle Shoals brand of soul. I got this cd three days ago and haven't been able to stop listening. Eddie Hinton makes me cry on Hymn for Lonely Hearts, literally, I get tears running down my face. But on Super Lover, he is superbly funky --eat your heart out, George Clinton! If you're debating on whether to get this cd, stop worrying, there are NO bad cuts, and there are many GREAT ones -- and these are DEMOS, friends. Cover Me, We Got It, Get Off In It, I Still Wanna Be Your Man, Coming After You, and the terrific title track, Dear Y'all -- these and all the others testify not only to what a great soul singer this guy was but a terrific songwriter as well. And heaven knows his resume speaks to what kind of guitarist he was. I can see I'm soon going to own everything by Eddie Hinton I can get my hands on. Lucky me!
March 1, 2006This is the best Eddie Hinton CD available, and its the best music you've never listened to. "Get off in it" -- Wow! In intensity, it rivals "River Deep Mountain High" . . .its just a phenomonal song. This "alternate" performance is, to my tastes, much better than the version that Capricorn released.
Hinton was an extraordinary talent. . .the "blackest white voice" you've heard, and a fascinating melting pot. . .some songs are definitely "southern country rock", some are "R and B" and others sit in between. His music is testimony to a color-blind vision-- he got his music where he found it.
I can't recommend this CD highly enough, nor offer enough thanks to the folks at Zane for rescuing these demo tapes. . .this is a gem, and in a world where so much crummy overproduced music fails to please, I guarantee that Eddie's modest demos will get you smiling. May 14, 2003
| | | Architect of Southern Soul | |
Eddie Hinton was one of the true originators of the Muscle Shoals Sound. His swampy, gurgling guitar work can be heard on the hits of the likes of Percy Sledge to the Staple Singers. His songwriting skills produced such gems as Cover Me and It's All Wrong, But It's Alright (Percy Sledge), Every Natural Thing (Aretha Franklin), and Things Got To Get A Little Bit Salty (Bobby Womac). All of those can be heard here as sung by the man himself. He was a great soul singer in his own right, with a raw, emotion-filled voice and a style much like Otis Redding's. Zane Records has compiled a wonderful collection of mid 70's - early 80's unissued studio recordings, demos, and even Eddie's first recording as a solo artist, a late 60's single called "Dreamer" that is a revelation! The CD comes with a 10 page booklet that includes rare photographs and insightful liner notes by Peter Thompson. A first class production from start to finish. Essential Southern Soul!
June 15, 2001| | | Troubadour on a Deserted Highway | |
One of Muscle Shoals unsung heros,exposed and naked, for the world to hear if they would only take the time to listen. Eddie Hinton represented everything sacred and holy to the Good Book of Southern R&B. A Native son of Alabama, Hinton was revered by all who were fortune enough to be touched by his musical magic. Hailed by music crtics and worshiped by the icons of the industry, Hinton never had the privilage of enjoying the success that evaded him throughout his lifetime. "Dear Ya'll" is a treasure of unreleased outtakes along with released material in the making. From the opening tracks of "Build Your Own Fire" with Eddie's count down intro (a one......two.....) you know immediatly your in the presence of a giant. "Dangerous Highway" would not be out of place on any Otis Redding offering while "Hymn for the Lonely Hearts" begs for a contemporary remake. The anthemic "Get off in it" is rendered in it's raw,beautiful naked beginings finally commited to vinyl on the CD "Very Extremely Dangerous" released by Capricorn records in 1978 but due to internal distribution problems sunk without a trace. If your one of those people who appreciate raw naked emotional musical landscapes, look no further then the offerings of Eddie Hinton. After all, it's about time the world woke up to one of it's musical masters in the art of "Soul" and to give Eddie the recognition that is long overdue. Thanks to Zane records in the U.K. for putting this gem out. Now if only the American record companies would take heed, follow the heart of what music is all about.
June 2, 2001More reviews at Amazon.com ...
