Dedicated to wife
Ann Peebles,
Don't Give Up on Love is
Don Bryant's first secular album since 1969, the same year he placed a co-writing credit on
This Is Ann Peebles.
Bryant also recorded several singles for
Hi Records during the latter half of the '60s, but he settled into penning songs for other artists and spun some gold with his partner, exemplified by "I Can't Stand the Rain." Long after
Bryant devoted all his musical energy to the church,
Hi Rhythm Section drummer
Howard Grimes persuaded the singer to perform with him in
the Bo-Keys.
Bryant's return to R&B felt so right that it led to
Don't Give Up on Love. Recorded in Memphis with several of
the Bo-Keys, including
Grimes and fellow
Hi veterans
Charles Hodges (organ) and
Hubby Turner (keyboards), as well as bandleader
Scott Bomar (bass), it stays true to the tradition of late-'60s/early-'70s Memphis soul. Much of that has to do with the enduring might of
Bryant's voice. It seizes attention on the opening cover of
Vernon Morrison and
Don Robey's "A Nickel and a Nail" -- popularized by
O.V. Wright, for whom
Bryant wrote material -- and seldom loosens its grip through a set that is mostly originals composed by
Bryant either alone or with
Bomar. Out of the new songs, "How Do I Get There" is the standout, a resolute hybrid of gospel, blues, and soul where
Bryant sings about the promise of the afterlife.
Bryant also goes all the way back to 1960 for an update of "I Got to Know," which he wrote for vocal group
the "5" Royales, and revisits his "It Was Jealousy," recorded separately during the early '70s by
Otis Clay and
Peebles. This is one pleasant and pleasing surprise. ~ Andy Kellman
