Don Covay - See Saw

Styles: Vocal, R&B
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:29
Size: 74,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:00)  1. See Saw
(2:03)  2. The Boomerang
(2:33)  3. Everything Gonna Be Everything
(2:35)  4. Fat Man
(2:43)  5. Precious You
(2:56)  6. Iron out the Rough Spots
(2:51)  7. Please Do Something
(2:46)  8. I Never Got Enough of Your Love
(2:08)  9. The Usual Place
(2:37) 10. A Woman's Love
(2:45) 11. Sookie, Sookie
(2:26) 12. Mercy, Mercy

Don Covay rides his most creative crest as a solo artist with this hearty collection of songs. The settings are simplistic for Atlantic Records, which recorded similar artists in lusher settings. But rawness is what makes these recordings arresting. A guitarist as well as a singer, Covay's pickings aren't buried in the mix, and you don't need a Geiger counter to detect the grooves. Most impressive are "See Saw," "Mercy Mercy," "Sookie, Sookie," and "Boomerang," a call to dance with the feeling of Major Lance singing a Curtis Mayfield song. On "Fat Man," you wonder if he's singing about his old Washington, D.C., buddy Billy Stewart. The two began their careers with the Rainbows. ~ Andrew Hamilton https://www.allmusic.com/album/see-saw-mw0000838700

Personnel: Don Covay (vocals).

See Saw

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Don Covay - Super Dude

Styles: Vocal, R&B 
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:42
Size: 156,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:06)  1. Overtime Man
(3:18)  2. I Stayed Away Too Long
(4:22)  3. I Was Checkin' Out She Was Chekin' In
(2:32)  4. Hold You To Your Promise
(3:22)  5. Memphis
(3:11)  6. The Pinch Hitters
(6:15)  7. Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home
(3:26)  8. Bad Mouthing
(4:41)  9. Leave Him Pt. 1
(3:23) 10. Leave Him Pt. 2
(3:00) 11. Money (That's What I Want)
(2:40) 12. Don't Step On A Man When He's Down
(3:29) 13. Sweet Thang
(4:33) 14. Daddy, Please Don't Go Out Tonight
(3:44) 15. Why Did You Put Your Shoes Under My Bed
(3:23) 16. Stop By
(4:19) 17. Bad Luck
(4:48) 18. Hitching A Ride

Don Covay hadn't seen a lot of chart activity since the '60s, but he returned in 1973 with the comeback album Super Dude. The singles "Overtime Man," "I Was Checkin' Out She Was Checkin' In," and "Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home" were all worthy of high recognition, but only "I was Checkin'," a classic about a guy cheating on his woman while she's cheating on him at the same motel, made any real noise. "Leave Him, Pts. 1-2" is another good gritty track, but Mercury spoiled it by putting the first part on the first side and the second on the second, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. On the positive side, Covay breathes new life into "Money (That's What I Want)." 

The recording quality is slicker and better engineered than his earlier material, and there are more musicians, but the raw charm of "See Saw" and "Mercy Mercy" is missing. This is the mature, been-through-the-mill Don Covay, whose singing about adultery and promiscuity had a Southern/uptown soul feel. [R.P.M.'s 2005 reissue adds six tracks from Covay's 1971 album on Janus titled Different Strokes for Different Folks.] 

~ Andrew Hamilton http://www.allmusic.com/album/super-dude-the-mercury-years-vol-1plus-mw0000336971

Personnel: Don Covay (vocals).

Super Dude

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