Wilson Pickett - The Evil Pickett

As most of us are aware, Wilson Pickett's voice was one of God's most powerful gifts to soul music.   KingCake already made an initial post on this blog of a collection of Pickett's pre-Atlantic sides from the mid-60s: "It's Too Late."  I also assume that most of us have core 60s collections of Wilson Pickett on Atlantic from Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Philadelphia.  If you don't, then I highly recommend that you rectify that situation right away.

What we have here is a fabulous and intriguing private collection put together by none other than Opal Lee Nations.  A handful of the big hits and other Atlantic tracks are here, most likely selected on the basis of being Opal's personal favorites.  But there are also a lot of rare gems.  Altogether, we get a portrait of the Great Wicked One that is different than anything commercially available.  This is a Pickett collection that I reach for as often as any, and I hope that you will too.  

For the biographical details on Wilson Pickett, I refer you to the previous post by KingCake. Pickett started his career in Gospel under the main influence of Julius Cheeks of the Sensational Nightingales.  He joined one of the great young gospel quartets, the Violinairies, in the late 50s.  The Violinairies already had a dominant lead singer in Robert Blair, and there unfortunately would appear to be no Violinairies recordings with Pickett leads.  There is one Violinairies track on this compilation where Pickett is supposedly singing background vocals, but even that is disputed and (if true) not really audible.   But Wilson Pickett did sing lead on a great 45 with the Spiritual 5.  Opal included that 45 on the collection as well as a later gospel song (Run On), recorded in 1968.   This gives us a short and concise portrait of Wilson Picket, the gospel singer.  And what a gospel singer he was!   R&Bs gain was certainly Gospel's loss. 

Wilson Pickett began his secular career with the Falcons where he scored a hit with the scorching "I Found A Love."  Opal has gathered here the remaining Falcons 45s featuring Wilson Pickett leads, many rare and difficult to find.  We have a number of the pre-Atlantic solo tracks recorded after Pickett left the Falcons, some of which duplicate the collection posted by KingCake.  The unmistakable guitar of Robert Ward graces many of these and the Falcons tracks.  The collection leads off with a stirring live version of If You Need Me from 1964.  All in all, there is much to savor on this selection by Opal Lee Nations.