Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Jimmy Hughes's early musical exploits included stints with gospel groups, including one with his cousin Percy Sledge. He grew into a soul singer and had a hit with "Steal Away" and several other songs cut at the famed Muscle Shoals studio before eventually returning to the Church (and apparently showing no interest in the reissue of his old soul music sides). It's a little ironic that "Steal Away" turned out to be Jimmy's biggest hit as this song isn't the well known spiritual of that name, but a song which, according to the sleeve notes of this compilation, speaks openly about infidelity. There was worry that the song would never get airplay because of its content, a fear that proved to be unfounded, most likely because the song isn't about infidelity but about a young man trying to see his girl while her folks are asleep, which is a fairly normal occurrence. The R&B record reached number 17 in Billboard's Hot 100. The 1960s were a productive time for Jimmy, then suddenly in 1971 in a scenario that would fit neatly into a Hollywood music-biz movie plot, he disappeared. What happened, we have since found out, is that he gave up music for a regular job. Other tracks on this 22 song reissue include the full 'Steal Away' album which was distributed nationally (US) by the enterprising Vee -Jay Records plus his non-album singles and four unreleased songs. R&B enthusiasts in the UK will probably know "Neighbor Neighbor" best, a song that was covered by a number of UK groups including The Graham Bond Organisation, The Spencer Davies Group and the unique Wilko Johnson who put it on his 'Solid Senders' album, a song that I remember playing many times. Jimmy's version has the remarkable quality of sounding fresh and modern, the guitar break is well before its time, the track exudes raw energy which makes it so appealing. Jimmy actually recorded this song twice, the second version sounds polished, but its sheen loses some of its immediacy and feel. It's the first version that's on this album although it was the second version that made it to number four in the R&B chart. These days it's probably the first attempt that would endear listeners. It's hard to say what influence Jimmy Hughes's music had on the rest of the popular music, but certainly some. The arrangement of "I'm Getting Better" bears a resemblance to Gene Pitney's "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa", which could have been Jimmy Hughes's producer Rick Hall's doing. Though, as both songs were recorded around the same time period it may not be easy to decide which influenced which. The subject matter of the songs Jimmy recorded at Alabama's Fame studio in the early '60s may not fit into a gospel choir's set at church but they are all interesting in their own way. Some are good time songs, with punchy brass parts, others are warning songs like "Neighbor Neighbor" i.e. don't gossip, it not good.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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