Essential Recordings: The Soul Sessions

Tracy Nelson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 28, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B001WCN296
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,313 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bargain Chance To Hear An Overlooked Gem, April 28, 2009

By 

James Morris (Jackson Heights, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Recordings: The Soul Sessions (Audio CD)

The phrase, "Best of Rounder Records" which appears on the cover of this CD, is a misnomer, since these tracks are not, strictly speaking, from Ms. Nelson's Rounder Records sessions, which took place between 1993 and 1999. Rather, they are from her two Flying Fish albums, Homemade Songs (1978) and Come See About Me (1980) which Rounder happens to own the rights to. Nor are they necessarily the tracks that some fans would pick from those two albums, although I dare say that, in the eyes of her fans and many critics also, Tracy Nelson never recorded a bad track in her life, and I count myself among her most ardent admirers. Both albums are available on a single combo CD, also from Flying Fish (Rounder) but if you happen to just want to try Ms. Nelson out, well, you can't go wrong with just about anything she's ever released. As it stands, she is a tragically overlooked singer (in proportion to her talent), and although she has thousands of fans, she deserves millions more.

Not that any of that really matters. What matters is that this CD represents a bargain introduction to Ms. Nelson's incredible voice, which many of the uninitiated might not chance upon, if left only the option of some of her higher-priced albums. Depending on how you count, this is the 25th release in her long career, but only the second compilation album to be released under her name. A close friend and fellow fan recently mused that the release of this compilation may mean the withdrawal of the Homemade Songs/Come See About Me combo CD. I certainly hope not, for that would be a real shame.

Whatever you may think of the tracks offered on this CD, it will give you a good idea of what Tracy Nelson is all about. You see, Tracy Nelson has sung Rock and Roll, Blues, Country Western, Gospel and various combinations thereof, but one of the primary genres she has always concentrated her efforts on is Rhythm & Blues. Tracy Nelson is a Caucasian singer who loves African American music, and she pays homage to the sounds she loves most pretty much better than anyone else her shade could ever hope to. Although these are primarily R & B tunes, Tracy never, ever sounds like a white singer who is trying to sound black; rather she (and her band for that matter) always sound like exactly what they are: (mostly) white musicians who love the sound of R & B. Whatever form of music she dabbles in, the R & B style has permeated her recorded output almost since she made her first album at the age of 19, back in 1964.

More importantly, these tracks were recorded at the peak of her awesome power. Some may disagree and prefer other periods of her career, but I first came upon her music with the release of Homemade Songs. As such, some of these tracks hold a special magic for me, and memories of the time when I first fell in love with her incredible sound.

Six of the ten songs here are from the predominantly R & B release Come See About Me, but one of the most soulful selections is from Homemade Songs. God's Song, written by Randy Newman, was also recorded by Etta James, among others. Armed with a set of scaled-down lyrics from the Newman and James versions, Tracy unleashes the full power of her voice at the climax of this track in ways that will convince many a skeptic, for I know of few such powerful voices in the realm of popular music. The producers have also seen fit to include the original version of Walk Away, a song Tracy has recorded more than once, and now usually performs as the centerpiece of her live recitals.

I wanted to avoid a track-by-track analysis with this review and allow new fans to discover their favorites on their own. But I would be remiss if I did not mention Suddenly, a song I have heard Tracy perform live several times. It is one of my favorite Tracy Nelson performances, and with good reason. Again (as with many of Tracy's best recordings) the climax of this song unleashes the full throttle of her magnificent voice, and the results are something I find thrilling every time I hear it, even after 30 years. At the bargain price of this release, I promise you your money's worth of great music.

If you find you like this music a lot, head on over to Tracy's website, at [...] There's a message board there where Tracy frequently drops by to chat with fans and answer questions, for she has always been very much accessible to those who appreciate her music. I had the pleasure of seeing Tracy perform less than a month ago (April 3, 2009) in my home State, and I can attest to the fact that she has lost none of her great talent or wonderfully casual approach to her fans. She is a genuine original with awesome talent and a deeply warm person, and I hope she continues to make music for a long time to come. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you listen to me, you'll listen to Tracy, March 7, 2010

By 

socrates17 "socrates17" (New Jersey/Tanelorn 2008/9) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Recordings: The Soul Sessions (Audio CD)

I must have seen Janis Joplin a dozen+ times in the late 60s - only once when she was backed by someone other than Big Brother. I far, far preferred Big Brother. (It is with some considerable sense of satisfaction that I see at least some other people now coming around to my point of view.)

No, I did not just have a senior moment (although I'm entitled to one.) If I saw Janis a dozen times in the 60s and loved HER - even to the extent of trying to like Southern Comfort (EWWWW) - I WORSHIPED Tracy. I was only fortunate enough to see Mother Earth once - opening for The Chambers Brothers at The Fillmore East New Year's Eve 1968.

She used to bring her band to the late, sadly lamented Lone Star Cafe and I was able to see her once at Trammps before they ditched the tables and turned it into a hellhole. Unlike with Janis, I preferred her solo bands.

Tracy (who didn't seem pleased to have been reminded of how long ago the Fillmore show was when I was trying to chat her up one time between sets in Trammps) was an idol. From the s.t. Reprise LP onward I bought everything upon release including the original twofor of the CD under discussion. Since I never got around to reviewing that CD, I sequenced it to follow this new "Digest" version for the purposes of listening for this review. (Actually, I still have the original LPs, but no turntable any more, alas....)

These are just fabulous. They may not be my favorite Tracy*, but they are really good Tracy and ANY Tracy is worth listening to more than once. They did a good job of selecting tracks. "She's Takin' My Part", "Come See About Me" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'" are all great.

Finally, I just LOVE that cover (which I guess is common to the series.)

*These would be the cited Prestige album (now only available as an expensive Japanese edition or third party vinyl) and the 2 MCA/LP, OneWay/CD releases Time is On My Side & Sweet Soul Music. Plus The Law of Conservation of Emotion makes it physically impossible to have too many versions of "Down So Low" which, as she is fond of reminding us, was chosed by Esquire Magazine to be "The Saddest Song Ever Written." You know what? Esquire is right. (Not on this CD, BTW.)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come See About Her!, December 28, 2009

By 

Gregor von Kallahann - See all my reviews

This review is from: Essential Recordings: The Soul Sessions (Audio CD)

I must admit I was a little ambivalent about this CD's release. All of its tracks are included on the "twofer" collection HOMEMADE SONGS/COME SEE ABOUT ME, and the appearance of this scaled down sampler seemed to suggest that the earlier release might be going out of print. Tracy Nelson did, however, indicate on her website that at least as far as she knew, both releases would be available for a long time to come. And that's good news indeed: this new bargain release will likely serve as a great intro for "newbies,' and those who want to hear more (and it's hard to imagine anyone who would not) can go on to purchase the more expansive disc later (and maybe donate this one to their local library thereafter). Sounds like a win/win to me.

This new album does have another plus that makes it worthy of anyone's consideration. Tracy Nelson is an extremely eclectic artist whose music has always covered the spectrum from country to blues to rock and to soulful ballads to...well, you get the idea. She's probably a marketer's nightmare, but she is and remains, to all who know her work, a true music fan's delight. Still there's something to be said for a collection that focuses on a single style that an artist has explored, and this collection's emphasis on Tracy's soulful side truly underscores just how great a blues and soul singer she is.

These cuts stem from Tracy's two-album stint on the Flying Fish label in the late '70s and early '80s. Rights to those releases were later acquired by her '90s label, Rounder, so it's interesting to note that no cuts from her later '90s albums were included here. Stylistically speaking, they certainly could have been: there are many cuts from that era that are as "soulful" as the ones included here. But I'm just as glad that this record is limited primarily to a particular era. (And if Rounder ever wants to anthologize the '90s stuff at some point, that would be legit too.)

As the previous reviewer has noted, six of the ten songs here come from the more r'n'b themed COME SEE ABOUT ME album. On the title cut, Tracy revamped the old Supremes hit and made it something new, less poppy but every bit as engaging. I never worry anymore about which artist "owns" a song. I just love and appreciate the grit and fire that Tracy brings to her take on this Motown classic. Same with "Hold On I'm Comin'". There's absolutely no point in comparing Tracy's take to Sam & Dave's original. Let's just say that it's a great tribute and no mean feat that she is able to convert this classic duet into a powerful solo. (I only wish she'd had horns on this one--the wiry guitar intro is OK, but the tune definitely could use the "oomph" of a horn section).

The tracks from the earlier HOMEMADE SONGS are also standouts, and in fact, they stand out in quite a different way than they ever did on the original release. HOMEMADE songs started off explosively with a powerhouse take on Randy Newman's classic "God's Song." But then it calmed down noticeably. There were other great r'n'b style tracks, but the actual show stopper--as it turned out--was the opening track. For many fans, HOMEMADE SONGS was, in fact, more noteworthy for its gorgeous ballads like "Summer of the Silver Comet" and Dianne Davidson's "Sounds of the City."

So it's actually a kind of revelation to have "God's Song" included in a more soul/r'n'b focused collection. Along with "Walk Away," it fits right in as one of the realshowstoppers here, but it's not a drastic change of mood or anything. Sure it's not a standard issue love-gone-wrong blues or soul number (unless you'd want to call it a METAPHYSICAL love-gone-wrong song) but stylistically it seems aptly suited for this set. (By the way, I've always said that Tracy Nelson is a masterful musical "editor," and this song would seem to back up that claim: she's streamlined it considerably, and wisely--imho--jettisoned the all-too-obvious "jamboree/satellite" TV lines.)

As for "Walk Away," well, that number has become something of a latterday signature song for Tracy, ever since she pretty much retired "Down So Low" from live performances. This great Oliver Sain tune, originally given prominence by Ann Peebles, is one of Tracy's fieriest performances. She's re-recorded it a number of times since, both in the studio and live. People who saw her on tour with the Chicago Blues Reunion a few years back know just what a barn burner she turned it into. It was clear that even in her '60s, Tracy Nelson had lost none of her power.

But you know, she also has this classic, you could almost say "stately" side to her soul repertoire, and over the years, I think I've come to appreciate that aspect of her music more and more. Songs like "Tightrope," "Tears" and "Suddenly" and, my fave, "She's Taking My Part" have a quieter fire, but they stick with you nonetheless. These tunes all have a groove that seems to chug along effortlessly until those key moments where Tracy unleashes her magnificent voice full throttle. Sneaks up on you, it does. And it's all the more of a thrill for it.

You owe it to yourself to check out Tracy Nelson. And there's really no better introduction than this ten-song sampler.