Sam Moore - Overnight Sensational - (Re-Re-Post)

Sam Moore - Overnight Sensational - 2006

The lead voice of Stax Records' powerhouse soul duo Sam and Dave returns to reclaim his legacy here with a collection of familiar r&b catalog choices framed by slick, decidedly contemporary productions. If the project's crowded supporting cast -- Springsteen, Clapton, Wynonna, Sting, Bon Jovi, Winwood, Paul Rodgers, Mariah Carey, Vince Gill and Billy Gibbons among the most notable -- sometimes makes Moore seem like a guest on his own album, their admittedly marketing-driven presence nonetheless helps showcase a seminal soul artist for an American Idol-smitten generation that seems to have taken him for granted (hardly a surprise that project producer Randy Jackson is best known as an AI judge).

Yet Moore's gritty, expressive voice can't be denied on the best of it, whether on the simmering gospel fervor of the Wynonna/Bekka Bramlett/Bebe Winans-seasoned "I Can't Stand the Rain," the bluesy shuffle of "Better To Have and Not Need" with Springsteen joining in the chorus or a soulful "None of Us Are Free" featuring Sting. But, as Fantasia's turn on the unfortunate "Blame It On the Rain" argues, it's also an album whose tracks often frustratingly rise or fall in proportion to the contributions of its guests; less would definitely mean Moore here.

01. I Can't Stand The Rain - with Wynonna, BeBe Winans & Billy Preston
02. Better To Have And Not Need - with Bruce Springsteen
03. Blame It On The Rain - with Fantasia
04. Lookin' For A Love - with Jon Bon Jovi
05. Ain't No Love - with Steve Winwood
06. None Of Us Are Free - with Sting & Sheila E.
07. It's Only Make Believe - with Mariah Carey & Vince Gill
08. Don't Play That Song - with Bekka Bramlett
09. If I Had No Loot - with Van Hunt, Nikka Costa & Billy F. Gibbons
10. Riding Thumb - with Travis Tritt & Robert Randolph
11. We Shall Be Free - with Paul Rodgers
12. You Are So Beautiful - with Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Zucchero & Robert Randolph





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