Bobby Wayne
Soul Station
Bonedog Records
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It's been a full three years since I reviewed
Bobby
Wayne's last CD in these pages (March 2005), and
that release, Hit That Thing, was one of those
sleepers that was at the top of my best of list that
year and has been a frequent go to CD since then. I
anxiously awaited the release of this new one,
Soul Station, and
it was well worth the wait. Once again Wayne is
blessed with real musicians, great songwriting and
production second to none.
It opens with the title track, "Soul Station," a song
about WLAC in Nashville and the great music DJ John
R. played. WLAC, as I have mentioned in the past, was
one of those 50,000 watt stations that you could
pick up at night on the east coast when the weather
was clear.
That's when we all heard James Carr, Spencer Wiggins
and Oscar Toney Jr. for the first time, especially
those of us in the New York / New Jersey area. We
heard a lot of Atlantic Records, but those great
southern releases on Jewel, Ronn and Goldwax didn't
get the plays in the north they should have. And
let's not forget those great commercials for mail
order live chicks and gold leaf bibles that always
ran on WLAC. Wayne reminisces about listening on his
little transistor radio. Ah yes, those were the days
of innocence.
This release has a more Northern Soul feel than it's
predecessor, but there are a few southern tunes
thrown in, like the excellent Dan Penn
- Donnie Fritts tune "Rainbow Road." This is given a
great reading by Wayne even though it falls short of
the late great Arthur Alexander version. Of the more
upbeat tracks, Willie Kendricks' RCA release, "Change
Your Ways," is right on, as is Major Harris' "Call Me
Tomorrow." Horns abound and everyone sounds like
they are having a great time.
Another excellent
cover is the mid-paced "I'm Taking On Pain," a 1966
release by the underrated Tommy Tate. Many of the
remaining songs were penned by Boneyard's bassist /
producer Mike Sweeney and various band members. Of
the new originals, "East End Avenue" is another
"those were the good old days" song. "Right As The
Rain" is a deep soul blast, and another classy ballad,
"Over And Over,"
closes the CD like sweet icing on the cake. I only
wish there were more releases of this caliber.
This important release can be ordered at
www.bonedogrecords.com.
Supporting independent releases like this will
enable these small companies to thrive and continue
to make new music that is not controlled by the
majors. How refreshing is that.
--- Alan Shutro