Review: Sterling Harrison - South of the Snooty Fox

Hacktone Records is getting a reputation for releasing comeback albums by R&B; artists who had faded into relative obscurity. (See Arthur Alexander.) This time around it's Sterling Harrison's South of the Snooty Fox.

Harrison passed away in 2005 and this album was to be his chance to step up from the second tier of soul singers and show off his not inconsiderable talents. In his 40 year career, he had played with the likes of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Etta James but he was never able to strike out on his own and find more mainstream (i.e. – white) success. Snooty Fox was mostly recorded in 2001 and then polished over the succeeding few years until Harrison's death. It was not until this year that it saw the light of day.

Steve Berlin of Los Lobos was co-producer and he managed to get a nice sound that recalled the R&B; heydays of the 1960s while being planted in the 21st century. Harrison's fantastic baritone is up front leading the music as it should be. All of this means that the album has a nice raw sound that lets the singer ply his trade instead of being bogged down by the production which killed Alexander's comeback effort.

If a guy can take a Tom Waits song and make it his own as is the case here with "The House Where Nobody Lives", then there's something special going on. And indeed there is. "Ain't Nobody Home" may be most closely associated with B.B. King, but the version here is the perfect opener with the classic R&B; beat and Harrison's soaring vocals. O.V. Wright's "A Nickel and a Nail" changes the pace a bit before the booty-shaking of "Seven Days" with its scratchy guitar riff and some sax work from Berlin. "You Left the Water Running" leans towards funk and has some tasty organ work. Perhaps the highlight is the slow-burning "I'll Take Care of You" which showcases guitarist Larry Johnson at his finest. It's a Bobby Bland song which Harrison stretches out to nearly eight minutes of tense seductive flirtation with the listener.

It is a crying shame that Harrison was taken away by cancer because South of the Snooty Fox shows just what an immense talent he was – certainly the equal of the legendary peers he opened for over the years.