By Tom O’Connor

I’ve never physically been to Memphis but since I’ve been listening to American-made Rock & Roll, Soul and Blues for my entire life, I can safely say that spiritually, I have been to The Bluff City. We all have. If you’ve ever tapped your toe or turned up the car radio for pretty much any song written since the late 50s, you have Memphis to thank for it. That’s how deep the roots go and how far the branches have spread.

Melissa Etheridge knows this too. Given the opportunity to record a collection of STAX covers she said not just yes, but hell, yes, and clearly brought her A-game to the project. It is good fit and giving these rock and soul classics the ME treatment really illuminates what an influence the originals were on her – just as they have been on all of us.

The collection kicks off with a hard driving “Memphis Train” just in case the album title didn’t give you enough warning of what to expect. ME’s powerful voice is a howitzer, but such a heavy weapon needs to be carefully targeted. That’s what you get here, for the most part, on all twelve tracks of the collection.

The opener is followed by a few tracks that almost seem mandatory for a collection of STAX hits. “Respect Yourself (People Stand Up)” follows the opener, feeding off of that energy. The flow continues with a romp through “Who’s Making Love.” She takes the song more seriously than the Blues Brothers’ poppy cover from a few decades ago, but I’m willing to bet Jake & Elwood would approve.

 

Next up Sam & Dave get the mandatory nod with, “Hold On, I’m Comin'” in which Melissa gives the band some time and space to spread out and vamp. This is a good thing because some of these tunes hew very closely to the originals. Some listeners, and fans, might be puzzled by such a close reading of the musical text given ME’s track record as such a singular musician and voice, but there is a reason why you’re going to be cool with it.

That reason is Etheridge’s passion and enthusiasm. This album is not a money-grab by any stretch of the imagination. The sincerity comes through on every track, and her familiarity with the material is clear in some of the more obscure tracks she has selected, such as Barbara Stephens’ (who?) rarity, “Wait a Minute,” which ME turns into a fairly blistering hard-driver and “Any Other Way” by the criminally under-appreciated William Bell.

The album closes strong with as much energy as it started. A fierce run at Albert King’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” is worth the wait, and which, by the way, was actually written by…wait for it: William Bell.

The album concludes with Otis Reddings’ “I’ve Got Dreams To Remember.” And. Just. Yow. The first time I heard the original, I was a young punk rocker who possessed exactly two changes of clothes, one guitar and zero clues, but when I heard it, I thought, “This Redding guy gets me.” Etheridge’s version doesn’t quite knock me off my pins like that, but she comes as close as anybody.

This is a strong collection. It will make rock & soul fans want to check out more of ME’s work, and it’ll likely introduce many of her younger fans to the STAX foundation that built all of this, and all of us. If you ask me, that’s win-win.

Memphis Rock and Soul is available: 

Website: https://www.melissaetheridge.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaEtheridge/

Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/5JMqUlAUeSP9RFinIKjFiq?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Memphis-Rock-Soul-Melissa-Etheridge/dp/B01JSIR142