Wilson Pickett - The Sound of Wilson Pickett LP

Atlantic (2014, Reissue)

This is the last of the Wilson Pickett Reissues that I've added to the collection over the past year.  It doesn't seem that the reissue campaign extended past The Sound of Wilson Pickett.  I'm not exactly sure why (not being as familiar with his non-Greatest Hits output as I would like to be), but I'm definitely going to be looking around for decent condition copies of The Midnight Mover and I'm In Love.  I can't imagine his work falls off a cliff over the span of a year.

Back to The Sound Of Wilson Pickett.  First off it has one of my absolute favorite Wilson Pickett songs on it, "Funky Broadway."  When I was a little kid, there were times that my dad would take my brother and I to a little lake where they had a pseudo 'beach' and swimming.  He'd set up at a picnic table with his little hibachi-style grill that could cook two hamburgers at a time and break out one of his three mix tapes on his little portable tape deck.  One of those mixes had "Funky Broadway" on it (Another had "All I Need Is A Miracle" by Mike & The Mechanics, but we'll not talk about that one).  "Funky Broadway" always felt like a missing Blues Brothers song and I truly feel that had John Belushi not died, they would have eventually recorded a version of it.  I just love this song.

The rest of the album is just as great if I'm being honest. From slower crooning jams like "I Found A Love" (both Parts I and II) to uptempo hits like "You Can't Stand Alone" there's no filler on this album.  I'm not sure it's ultimately quite as strong as some of his other full lengths like The Exciting Wilson Pickett or The Wicked Pickett, but it's pretty damn great.

Wilson Pickett - "Funky Broadway":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RAUoUD0uak

Wilson Pickett - "You Can't Stand Alone":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKSwNSa_URE

Wilson Pickett - The Wicked Pickett LP

Music On Vinyl (2014, Reissue)

The Wicked Pickett along with The Exciting Wilson Pickett are the two albums that have the most songs that I had been familiar with prior to building up my Wilson Pickett collection.  I had grabbed a Record Store Day version of The Exciting Wilson Pickett a few years ago, so I won't be writing up anything new about that album, but The Wicked Pickett is new to my collection and a welcome addition it is.

This album is full of some of the best Wilson Pickett songs out there,  "Mustang Sally" is the sort of hit that's just a part of the fabric of music at this point and there is no surprise as to why.  It's a pretty damn perfect song. Then we have "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love."  For me, this will always be a Blues Brothers song as I don't remember a time in my life where it wasn't a part of it.  But the original Wilson Pickett version is every bit as good and exciting as the Blues Brothers rendition that's so special to me.

There are other songs that I'm not as familiar with, including Pickett's versions of songs that had more notoriety from being performed by other bands.  Most people are probably more familiar with the Gary US Bonds version of "New Orleans," but man the Wilson Pickett version is on fire. I can't believe I've never heard this before.  He also does an incredible interpretation of the Eddie Floyd classic "Knock On Wood."

Pretty much everything on this album is essential.  It's kind of silly that took me as long as it did to get these records.

Wilson Pickett - "Mustang Sally":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gqQ7hzTJa0

Wilson Pickett - "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRRdhY5jOBE

Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour LP - Red Vinyl

Atlantic (2013, Reissue)

This reissue of Wilson Pickett's first album for Atlantic came out a few years ago.  This particular version came out on Red Vinyl and while it wasn't my absolute first choice for reissues (there was a 180g version from 2014 that I had my eye on), I was happy to discover that this red vinyl one was also a repress of the original mono mix.

This album has many more Wilson Pickett songs that I was previously familiar with than the last one I wrote about, It's Too Late.  First of we have the absolute classic title track.  That is one of songs that's just been ingrained in my brain as long as I can remember.  As a kid getting my musical education from The Blue Brothers, songs like this immediately jumped out at me when I heard them back then.

But this album's greatness is not limited to its most famous single.  Other incredible, soulful songs like "Take A Little Love," "That's a Man's Way" and "Don't Fight It" make this album an absolute treat to listen to.  It's a record that sounds so fresh and exciting even though it's fifty three years old.  The real insane thing to think about is that when I first heard these songs in the early 80s, they were not even 20 years old.  That's less of a time gap than if I go back and listen to Pavement records now.  This music (like the music of Pavement) is simply timeless and no matter how far in the rear view the release date gets, it is still as impactful as it ever was.

Wilson Pickett - "In The Midnight Hour":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVGFfj7POA

Wilson Pickett - "Don't Fight It":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A47uNen5-Q

Wilson Pickett - It's Too Late LP

Upfront (1969)

Since I'm out of Blues Brothers 7"s now, I figured I'd tackle some other records I've had building up for a while.  My love of The Blues Brother first led me to Wilson Pickett.  They called him out by name on the version of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" that appears on Best Of The Blues Brothers.  "Land of 1,000 Dances" was used during the end credits of The Great Outdoors.  My dad also had his song "Funky Broadway" that was on some mix tape of his that he'd play a lot.  I thought what I heard sounded so much like the Blues Brothers and wanted to know more.

I've had a few Wilson Pickett best of's since I was a kid.  I also had grabbed the reissue of The Exciting Wilson Pickett on Record Store Day a few years ago, but last year I decided I wanted to get the rest of his full length albums (at least to a point, I'm not interested in everything he did once we hit the 70s).  As many had been reissued over the last few years, my wife picked me up some for my birthday and Christmas last year.

One that wasn't among the more high profile reissues was his first album from 1963, It's Too Late.  I ended up scoring a sealed copy of the 1969 reissue that came out on Up Front records (based out of Linden, NJ if you're curious).  I'm pretty shocked that the condition of this thing is so good.  Maybe it's a more recent reissue than from 1969, but it sure seems like it's of that era to me based on the artwork and packaging.

The only song on this album that I was previously familiar with was the first track, "If You Need Me," which appears on a greatest hits album I've had since I was a kid.  Everything else are songs that are new to me.  They do sound like something from really early in his career.  They're missing a little bit of the polish and the energy he'd manage to capture later.  That said, there are still some incredible songs on here like "I'm Gonna Love You," "Baby Call On Me" and "I Can't Stop."  Not sure this is one that I will listen to as much as some of his other albums, but some of these songs are stone cold hits.

Wilson Pickett - "If You Need Me":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnK4k_EnXSo

Wilson Pickett - "I'm Gonna Love You":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iho8q7jvXuo

Wilson Pickett - "I Can't Stop":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMrXkRZKUcs

Wilson Pickett - The Exciting Wilson Pickett LP

4 Men With Beards (2006, Reissue)

Wilson Pickett has long been one of my absolute favorite musicians.  I was first clued into his music through The Blues Brothers.  They were the starting point of so much of the music I would end up listening to.  But also, my dad had the Wilson Pickett song "Funky Broadway" on a mix tape that he used to play when I was a kid.  I just feel like his music has always been around.  I have a few Wilson Pickett CDs and Best of's, but this is the first piece of wax I've picked up.

And picking it up was easy as it was part of a heavy reduction sale blowout thing that Insound was doing.  I think it only ended up being $7, so I can forgive the slightly bent corner on the cover.  The record sounds great as this is obviously a high quality reissue and the packaging is sturdy and sharp.  Not for nothing, I really miss album covers like this.  Bands need to bring this style back again.  It just looks so classic.

As far as the music goes, you just don't get much better in the 60's soul department than Wilson Pickett.  The lead off track "Land Of 1000 Dances" is so phenomenally good, I based all of the music at my wedding off of that one song.  Everything had to tie back to the mood it set.  But this is not a one song album.  Each and every track on here is a smash hit from "634-5789" to "In The Midnight Hour," Pickett is just untouchable.  I'm definitely thrilled to have this in the collection and I'm absolutely going to be hunting down deals on the rest of his records.  They all deserve a home.

Wilson Pickett - "Land Of 1000 Dances":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mz_EXHKGHs

Wilson Pickett - "In The Midnight Hour":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGVGFfj7POA