Eddie Floyd - Disc of the day

Eddie Floyd
Knock On Wood

(Stax, 1967)

He keeps a-knockin’, and he can most definitely come in…

The title track of Eddie Floyd’s first Stax album was a US Number 1 R&B hit and one of the most flogged-to-death covers by local bands on the UK club circuit 1966-68. Mea culpa. But Eddie’s still going very strong and has been on tour in Britain for some weeks – more than can be said for the perpetrators of the aforementioned artistic crimes. Born in Alabama, raised in Detroit, Floyd became one of the most prolific soul songwriters of the 1960s-70s and a much under-rated artist in his own right. After minor success in the north, Floyd moved south to Memphis where Knock On Wood, his second single for Stax, made him a star. But 634-5789, covered more frenetically by Wilson Pickett, was as significant to his development as a writer in a solid partnership with Steve Cropper. Raise Your Hand, another original on this first album, was a stand-out live shot. Joe Shamwell had journeyed south with Floyd and together they wrote Got To Make A Comeback, the album’s best ballad. Covers here range from well-known staples such as High-Heel Sneakers, James Ray’s If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody and Chris Kenner’s Something You Got to the less lauded such as I Don’t Want To Cry (Chuck Jackson) and But It’s Alright (J.J. Jackson). Booker T & The MGs are in rock solid form throughout; the Memphis Horns’ charts right on the money. If you have trouble finding the original album, last year’s The Platinum Collection (Warner Platinum/Rhino) includes all the Knock On Wood tracks, though not in the original running order.

Phil Alexander

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 11/03/2008