Search - Don Covay :: Don Covay

A bargain

Ron Heck | 11/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sure, there's only eight songs, no liner notes, and the sound quality is so-so, but since I got this CD for only three bucks, I have to say it was more than worth it. And while the guitars may not always be in perfect time, this is some rock-solid soul funk. I can't find any historical info on this, but these sound a lot like they could be demos from after the Mercy or Seesaw sessions. All of these tracks can be found on the King of Soul compilation along with most of the the "Different Strokes" LP. This a lot cheaper than that and the only truly essential song missing here is "Sweet Thang." If this CD had that track, King of Soul would be worthless in my eyes, but fortunately I got "Sweet Thang" off of Superdude. Amazon (or anyone for that matter) hasn't posted a track listing yet, so here it is.

1. "Yo-Yo Part One" This kind of fades out at the end and it doesn't seem like it should. The full version might be on King Of Soul, but I don't know. It's a funk/blues/soul hybrid and is very good.

2. "I Don't Think I Can Make It" great ballad

3. "Three Time Loser" is a lot like "Lucky Loser" from James Carr

4. "An Ugly Woman (Is Twice As Sweet)" I disagree

5. "Yo-Yo part 2" demonstrates the true jam potential of the song

6. "Love Is Sweeter On The Other Side" a lot like track 2 but sadder and therefore better

7. "You Can't Get Something for Nothing" sounds like some House of Blue Light song though Don has a tough time keeping up on the guitar part

8. "Your Love Had Got to Me" Don tries some Richard Berry-esque doo-wop and it sounds great



Edit: Turns out this is a reissue of Funky Yo-Yo which came out on vinyl in 1977, right after Travelin' In Heavy Traffic. I was way off."