by J.P. Ollio
Make a Joyful Noise is the follow-up to 1968's Living With the Animals. This time out, Mother Earth neatly divided their joint appreciations for rural and urban American music: a la the thematic "City Side" and "
Country Side." The City Side is an
R&B workout, powered by a robust horn section and the vocals of Rev. Ron Stallings on burning
soul cuts such as "Stop That Train," Tracy Nelson's killer performance on Naomi Neville's cooker "What Are You Trying to Do," and sultry read of Little Willie John's babymaker "Need Your Love So Bad." The
Country Side is more subdued, adorned by steel guitars and Powell St. John's quavering vocals on "I'll Be Moving On" and the strange "The Fly." Nelson's version of Doug Sahm's "I Wanna Be Your Mama Again" is her
blues-
country gospel version of Hank Williams' honky tonk nugget "You Win Again" (with a fine fiddle solo by Johnny Gimble). Some of the guest stars on this set include Boz Scaggs, Hargus Robins, Ben Keith, D.J. Fontana, and Pete Drake. Make a Joyful Noise remains an overlooked classic from the Warner Brothers catalog that finally saw CD issue in 2004 by Wounded Bird.
Tracks: -------
1. Stop The Train (Castille, Andrews, Arthur) - 3:23
2. What Are You Trying To Do (Naomi Neville) - 3:56
3. I Need Your Love So Bad (Little Willie John) - 5:25
4.
Soul Of The Man (Oliver Sain) - 3:07
5.
Blues For The Road (Stallings, Andrews) - 3:36
6. You Win Again (Hank Williams) - 4:16
7, Come On And See (Robert Arthur) - 3:12
8. Then I'll Be Moving On (R.B. St John) - 3:22
9. The Fly (R.B. St John) - 3:36
10.I Wanna Be Your Mama Again (Doug Sahm) - 3:31
11.Wait, Wait, Wait (Naomi Neville) - 2:43
Personnel:------
Tracy Nelson - Piano, Vocals
Powell St. John - Harmonica, Vocals
John Cameron Andrews - Guitar
Bob Arthur - Bass, Vocals
Joe Arnold - Horn Section, Tenor Sax
Larry Butler - Piano
Sadie Cantrell - Vocals
Lonnie Castille - Drums
James "Curly" Cooke - Rhythm Guitar
Lady Corder - Vocals
Clay Cotton - Organ, Piano
Jack Drake - Bass
Pete Drake - Steel Guitar
Ronnie Eades - Baritone, Horn Section
D.J. Fontana - Drums
Shorty Lavender, Johnny Gimble - Fiddle, Violin
Ben Keith - Dobro, Guitar
Gene "Bowlegs" Miller - Horn Section, Trumpet
Gerald Richardson - Horn Section, Trombone
Hargus "Pig" Robbins - Keyboards
Irma Routen - Vocals
Boz Scaggs, Dale Sellars - Rhythm Guitar
Rev. Ron Stallings - Vocals
Aaron Varnell - Horn Section, Tenor Sax
All thanks to original releaser