***“ANN PEEBLES was at the height of her fame in 1975 when she cut the album Tellin' It—she had scored her biggest chart hit the year before with ‘I Can't Stand the Rain,’ and Tellin' It reflected the kind of hard-edged but soulful groove that had taken Peebles to the upper reaches of the charts (and was producer WILLIE MITCHELL’s stock in trade). The album's opening cut, ‘Come to Mama,’ even features the same sort of fractured rhythmic undercurrent that had hooked ‘I Can't Stand the Rain,’ but Peebles and Mitchell had the good sense not to deliver ten remakes of her hit; instead, Tellin' It merges polished production with tough, sinewy grooves (the strings on ‘Stand By Woman’ and ‘It Was Jealousy’ add a touch of class, but don't clutter up the funk of HOWARD GRIMES' superb drumming and the punch of the MEMPHIS HORNS), and Peebles here reaffirms her status as one of the best female voices in R&B, cutting to the heart and soul of each lyric whether she's looking for a new man (’Doctor Love Power’) or breaking up someone's previously happy home (’Stand By Woman’). And while the disco explosion would make soul sets like this obsolete in a few years, Tellin' It features plenty of cuts that can fill the dancefloor without robbing Peebles of her soulful passion and sassy spirit.”—Mark Deming (All Music Guide) (STREET DATE - 1/04/2011)
CD $14.25
01/04/2011
***BACK IN STOCK!!! This wonderful album, originally released in 1974 on the Memphis-based Hi Records label, deserved a wider audience than it ended up getting at the time. It played to ANN PEEBLES’ great strength, her poised and sultry voice, and surrounded by the sparse, easy funkiness of the trademark Hi rhythm section and producer WILLIE MITCHELL’s perfect use of horns and strings, she sings like a resilient but disappointed angel on this impressive set of songs about the darker side of love. Her best song is here, the eccentric but brilliant “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” along with a marvelous version of Joe Simon’s “(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On,” and perfect readings of a pair of Earl Randle songs, “If We Can’t Trust Each Other” and “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down.” Peebles sings her heart out, and with those somehow bright-sounding Hi grooves behind her, it all comes together to make a classic album of dark, bouncy, and beautiful Southern soul.
LP $28.85
07/31/2012
CD $14.25
05/12/2009