Curtis's second Capitol album is a triumph on every level. The tragedy is that, apart from the hit title track, almost nothing off of this superb album was heard by the public -- most of the singles he was doing were very different from this material. The album featured
Curtis' covers of songs like the
Bill Doggett co-authored "Honky Tonk," and
Chuck Berry's "Memphis," the hottest, most soulful version of the
Champs' old hit "Tequila" ever recorded, and
Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man," as well as a re-recording of his hit "Soul Twist," and a version of his "Night Train," a big hit for
Jimmy Forrest. Maybe the biggest surprise here is the cover of the blues standard "Hide Away," written by
Curtis's old friend
Freddie King. Sharing the spotlight with
Curtis's sax throughout this record is
Cornell Dupree on lead guitar, adding just the right accompaniment variously as a lead and rhythm instrument -- the two make the oft-heard cover of "Hide Away" by
John Mayall and
Eric Clapton sound like a poor demo. There's not a wrong or wasted note.