Nudge It Up A Notch
Felix Cavaliere & Steve Cropper
12 GREAT NEW SONGS
One of Those Days
(Cavaliere, Cropper, Tiven)
If It Wasn't for Loving You
(Cavaliere, Cropper, Tiven)
Without You (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Hambridge, Tiven)
Full Moon Tonight (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Tiven) To Make It Right (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Tiven) Impossible (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Hambridge, Tiven)
Still Be Loving You (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Tiven) Cuttin' It Close (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Tiven) Make the Time Go Faster
(Cavaliere, Cropper, Gross, Tiven)
Jamaica Delight (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Tiven) Imperfect World (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Tiven) Love Appetite (Cavaliere,
Cropper, Tiven)
Steve Cropper's guitar, production and songwriting
embodied the sound and the spirit of Stax and the
southern soul of the `60s. At the same time, in the
Northeast, there was a band called The Rascals, whose
sound was epitomized by the brilliant songs, B-3 organ
and voice of Felix Cavaliere. Now these two R&B legends
come together to Nudge It Up a Notch, a tour de force of
12 smokin' original tunes, guaranteed to satisfy your
soul.
Nudge It Up A Notch, featuring Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere, was released July 29, 2008, on Stax. It’s
such an interesting collaboration that even the record
label is synonymous with great R&B. Renowned guitarist
and R&B legend Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MGs, the
Blues Brothers, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam and
Dave) and vocal/keyboard legend Felix Cavaliere (leader
of The Rascals) convene to create an album of incredible
proportions. Both known for their R&B and soul aptitude
for over 40 years, it can be perceived as a milestone
event.
Individually, Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere are
1960s legends, remembered as the guitarist for the Stax
Records house band and the singer/keyboardist for the
Rascals, respectively. Together, on NUDGE IT UP A NOTCH,
they match each other step for soulful step. As you
might expect, there are plenty of Stax-style grooves,
and no shortage of tasty guitar and organ work, but
Cropper and Cavaliere never go for an overtly retro
sound; a number of tunes sport reggae rhythms, and
album-closer "Make the Time Go Faster" even has some
hip-hop flavor.
This is 2008, not 1968, and while there are some
contemporary flourishes, like the rap leads on “Make the
Time Go Faster”, most of these brand spanking new tunes
would not have sounded out of place on the radio back in
the day. The material seems fresh rather than dated
because of the earnestness of the performances.
Sometimes the music just seems to jump out at you, like
Cropper’s guitar riffs that begin the lively
instrumental “Love Appetite” or Cavaliere’s moan that
starts off the haunting “One of These Days.” But to call
this blue-eyed soul in 2008 would be wrong. This is just
good soulful music.
Just when you think Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere’s
Nudge It Up A Notch might be getting a little too slick,
Cropper pops up with a beautifully judged bit of blues
guitar playing that’s anything but genteel. For that
matter, Cavaliere-the voice of white-soul pioneers the
Rascals on a slew of great singles and albums-keeps it
down-home even as he sounds as airy, optimistic and
powerful as he did back in 1970. It’s a perfect pairing,
and a completely successful modernization of soul music.
The Steve Cropper Interview
LISTEN TO A SAMPLE
ONLY $12.95 A full CD containing THE STEVE CROPPER
INTERVIEW: 60 minutes of Steve describing how some of his greatest songs
were written and all
of the great recording stories.
NEW ORDER SYSTEM COMING
SOON...Stay Tuned
I'm constantly
being asked to explain my years as staff guitar player,
songwriter and producer at Stax Records (Memphis,TN) from 1961
through 1970. After all these years, I decided to make my
stories available to whomever wanted them.
It was hard to cram 10 years worth of musical history into an hour,
but I did my best. Little did I know that the years I spent at
Stax would end up being musical history, but they did, thanks
to collaborators like the great rhythm section of Booker T &
The MG's: my good buddy, the late great Al Jackson; Booker T
for his expertise; and Donald "Duck" Dunn, my friend since the
sixth grade.
I also want to thank people like Isaac Hayes who contributed, David
Porter who I co-wrote some songs with, everybody who worked at
Stax Records, Mrs. Axton, Jim Stewart, my good buddy Tommy
Dowd and Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records.
