South of the Snooty Fox

Sterling Harrison

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 21, 2007)
• Original Release Date: August 21, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alternative Distribution Alliance
• ASIN: B000SM7R4W
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,907 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review
HackTone Records, a boutique imprint based in Culver City, Calif., has quickly made a name for itself by issuing uncommonly good music that has been neglected or otherwise fallen through the cracks. Last year, HackTone gave "The Lost Album" -- an aptly titled set of trippy pop from British soul singer Lewis Taylor -- its long-overdue commercial release. This year, they unearthed the Dynamics' "First Landing," a bracing collection of Detroit soul that had languished in the vaults since 1969.

HackTone's best find yet, though, could be this soul-blues wonder from the late Sterling Harrison. Recorded shortly before he died in 2005, the album consists mainly of gutbucket takes of lesser-known favorites by soul singers ranging from Sam &Dave and Bobby Womack to O.V. Wright and Howard Tate.

Harrison's conversational drawl often recalls that of the great Arthur Alexander, but he can just as easily break into a robust gospel shout or an octave-scaling falsetto. Galvanized by a tight, funky rhythm section, his performances here hint at what a more pyrotechnic Alexander might have sounded like had he made an album with the Meters.

Every track on the record is terrific, but the real stunners are a pair of slowly unfolding ballads. Harrison's smoldering, six-minute reading of Brook Benton's "I'll Take Care of You" shows his command of an extended spoken recitation. And the way he burrows into Tom Waits's "The House Where Nobody Lives" is devastating -- an expression of emotional and spiritual abandonment worthy of the great Delta blues singers. --The Washington Post

Product Description
Tonight, about the time you re fluffing up your pillow and shutting off the light, there s a party going on. People are kicking back for a good time in a club across the tracks. They re dressed up to get down, dancing to the kind of knees-on-the-floor soul music that most of us thought disappeared decades ago.

South Of The Snooty Fox is your invitation to the party, led by Sterling Mr. Entertainment Harrison, one of the finest singers to ever strut across a stage. Like many of the singers playing the chitlin circuit, Sterling s resumé goes back as far as soul music itself. He s shared the stage with Otis Redding, James Brown, and Millie Jackson. He s released singles and albums scattered back to the 60s for labels like Smash, Motown and Atlantic.

Still, he s never recorded an album that truly did his immense talent justice. Until now.

Produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, Sterling tears through songs from Bobby Blue Bland, Bobby Womack, Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor and O.V. Wright, making each one his own from the start. It s everything that s happening on the other side of town, and you re invited to listen in.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I wish he was around to feel the love...., August 21, 2007

By	monkeybuddha (Los Angeles, CA.) - See all my reviews

Imagine my surprise when Amazon recommended a soul CD by a man who is barely a footnote among soul collectors. He had a handful of singles in the 60's that change hands for less than they should and had a bad major label record in the 80's when major labels had no idea what to do with real soul men. How much geri curl can one head hold? They were gonna find out. Sterling and his career disappeared and no one much noticed or cared. If you don't know what the Snooty Fox is, it's an L.A. thang. Local soul fans would head down to South L.A. and take in a dinner (God Bless you Allen Larman), with a soul revue. Sterling could imitate anyone, it was truly amazing. Some guys with more money than sense decided to lay their money down and decided to see if Sterling could sound like himself. Sterling had the sack to put his career in the hands of some guys who loved the music and loved his voice and knew that the world didn't need another bad Malaco wannabe record. Make no mistake, this is a producer's record. Sterling would not have heard or picked most of these songs. He trusted that a couple of hipsters could hear something he had long stopped listening for. These guys saw something in this guy. So it was with great trepidation that I put this in the player. It works. Period. Sterling and band commit. And there is a feeling of excitement and wonderment both from a man who had long been spit out by an ugly business and a band that cared enough to find that one thing that makes a good record; a groove. These guys find it and keep it in the pocket. One thing is worth mentioning. This record was recorded BEFORE the "let me find an old soul act and stick them in an analogue studio" craze (Solomon Burke, Mavis Staples, Howard Tate etc., and therefore didn't have the benefit from knowing that anyone still cared except some guys that wanted to hear some soul music that made them feel like soul music used to. Back when you people still played their ax and got fined for not paying attention to the charts or for chewing gum or staring at someone's junk in the trunk. Buy this record. You'll be surprised. I was. I'm tough. I have trouble listening to anybody after 1974. Then go find his 60's singles. Then go find a reason to pass the Snooty Fox on a Friday or Saturday night. After all, what's REALLY the difference between a double and triple bypass?

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Sterling., October 10, 2007

By	Kevin J. Fitzpatrick - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great soul record. Top notch band, and an amazing performer in Sterling Harrison. You can tell that he has been doing this for decades, but every syllable sounds fresh and passionate. It's a shame that this will be his only later day recording, but I plan to keep playing this a lot.

5.0 out of 5 stars Soul music at its absolute best, August 24, 2007

By	V. Reese "Buttercup" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

OK - first of all if you don't know the magic that is Sterling Harrison, shame on you! But you can make it right and get this CD. "South of the Snooty Fox" is such a great example of how good soul music sounds. The pain, the sadness, all the emotion. When Sterling is feeling like he's been done wrong, you don't just hear it in his voice...you feel it. He doesn't over do anyting - it's simply perfect. So many heart wrenching songs to commiserate with - pull out the whiskey, sit back, and enjoy...