Ann Peebles I Can't Stand The Rain

180 Gram Vinyl! Re-mastering by Kevin Gray! Poised & Sultry Voice! Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
Classic southern soul with sweet Memphis sound. Peebles' voice aches and swoons across these songs backed by a band featuring Howard Grimes on drums, Jack Hale on trombone, Charles Hodges on keyboards, and more!
This wonderful album was originally released in 1974 on the Hi label from Memphis and would have deserved a larger audience than it found at the time. "I Can't Stand The Rain" matched Ann Peebles' great strength, her present and spirited voice, which was surrounded by the sparse, buoyant passion of the rhythm section that was Hi's trademark, as well as producer Willie Mitchell's perfect use of brass and strings; she sings like an indestructible but disappointed angel about the darker side of love in this impressive collection of songs.
Here, their best song is the eccentric but brilliant "I Can't Stand The Rain", plus an excellent version of Joe Simon's "(You Keep Me) Hangin' On" as well as perfect renditions of two songs by Earl Randle, "If We Can't Trust Each Other" and "I'm going to Tear Your Playhouse Down".
Peebles sings his heart out, and with those kind of cheerful sounding Hi-typical grooves in the background, everything really comes together to create a classic album of dark, jumpy and beautiful Southern Souls.
Perhaps because seven out of the ten songs here were written by Ann (in collaboration with her husband, singer-songwriter Donald Bryant, and seberal others), I Can't Stand the Rain feels like her most personal album. It's quieter, less aggressive than much of Ann's previous work, but no less assured. With her marbelous raw honey voice - so wispy sweet it breaks, then so full and hard it's chilling - she can be both tough and tender, sometimes in the same song. But whether heartbroken or joyous, righteously vengeful or disillusioned, Peebles always has a strength, a personal fire that makes each song glow from deep inside.
"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." - Steve Leggett/AMG

Features:

• 180g Vinyl
• Pressed at Pallas in Germany
• Limited Edition
• Audiophile Re-Mastering
• Re-mastering by Kevin Gray

Musicians:

• Ann Peebles, vocals
• Howard Grimes, drums
• Jack Hale, trombone
• Charles Hodges, keyboards
• Leroy Hodges, bass
• Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, guitar
• Wayne Jackson, trumpet
• Ed Logan, tenor saxophone
• Andrew Love, tenor saxophone
• James Mitchell, baritone saxophone
• Archie Turner, piano
• Rhode, background vocals
• Memphis Sanctified Singers, horn section
• Sandra Chalmers, background vocals
  

Selections:

Side A
1. I Can't Stand The Rain
2. Do I Need You
3. Until You Came Into My Life
4. (You Keep Me) Hangin' On
5. Run, Run, Run
Side B
1. If We Can't Trust Each Other
2. A Love Vibration
3. You Got To Feed The Fire
4. I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
5. One Way Street

Recorded at Royal Recording Studios, South Lauderdale, Memphis, Tennessee, 1973.
Re-mastered by Kevin Gray.
Produced by Willie Mitchell.