Wilson Pickett

In The Midnight Hour/The Exciting…

The first of five pairings of the Wicked PickettÕs 10 Atlantic albums.

As raw, real and compelling as any of the great ’60s soul singers, including genre definers Otis Redding and James Brown, Wilson Pickett’s body of work for Atlantic between 1965-71 touched the highest peaks, rarely plumbing the depths of mundane filler. These first two LPs for the label, 1965 and ’66 respectively, announced Pickett loud and proud. The former had its much-covered, never-bettered title track, plus Don’t Fight It, I’m Not Tired, two duets with Tami Lynn (Teardrops Will Fall, Come Home Baby) and tracks with pre-solo group The Falcons, including I Found A Love. Exciting is almost as good – 634-5789, Land Of 1000 Dances et al. Also recommended: the In Philadelphia/ Don’t Knock My Love pairing (1970/71), with its 17 bonus tracks. The former, recorded with Gamble & Huff, successfully modified his style; the latter returned him to the South, to Muscle Shoals. Pickett left when Atlantic lost soul focus in favour of white rock.