The Muscle Shoals Sessions

by Texas, Spooner Oldham

Overview

Texas share billing with keyboardist Spooner Oldham on The Muscle Shoals Sessions, an album cut at Oldham's old '60s stomping grounds: Alabama's FAME Recording Studios. Oldham was part of the brigade that gave records made at FAME a deep, soulful feeling, one that Texas pointedly doesn't attempt to re-create on their own voyage to the American South. There are no horns heard on The Muscle Shoals Sessions, no gutbucket rhythms or funky guitars. Often, the album feels like a duet album between vocalist Sharleen Spiteri and Oldham; the keyboardist plays the sweet changes, accentuating the chords with fleet but not fancy runs, as Spiteri sings with cautious passion. Apart from the cover of the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and "Would I Lie to You," a 1992 nugget by Charles & Eddie, the album is devoted to Texas' greatest hits, which all sound supple in these spare arrangements. While the energy may be reserved, that doesn't mean the record is cautious: witness "Black Eyed Boy," which is effectively stripped of its Motown bounce yet still sounds compelling when delivered with Oldham's wailing organ and empathetic electric piano. Such moments give The Muscle Shoals Sessions a pulse that is felt when the record shifts into slower gear, making it feel warm, intimate, and engaging. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	04/12/2024
Label:	Le Label
UPC:	5400863153625
Rank:	24739

Tracks

1. Halo
2. Mr Haze
3. Summer Son
4. Say What You Want
5. Keep on Talking
6. The Conversation
7. In Demand
8. Would I Lie to You
9. Let's Work It
10. Black Eyed Boy
11. Everyday Now
12. I Don't Want a Lover
13. In Our Lifetime
14. Save the Last Dance

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Texas   Primary Artist
Spooner Oldham   Primary Artist