Don Covay - MercySeeSaw (23 tracks) +Album Reviews

Boomerang With Me

leeleedee | Lexington, KentuckyCincinnati | 10/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title of this CD is actually "Mercy!"/"See-Saw." "Mercy!" was released in late 1964; "See-Saw" in 1966. This is essential soul and some crazy stuff. As usual, the people who edit liner notes left in a sentence like "Born in Orangeburg, S.C., on March 24, 1938, Covay's initial singing experience was strictly sacred." What's wrong with that sentence, soul men and women? Oh well, it's the vernacular, right, just like this music. Actually, soul music is quite formal, abiding by the rules more than most styles. The 1964 material might sound a little more old-fashioned to some but it's good and kinda unhinged; cool guitar as well (some believe that Jimi Hendrix played on a few of these songs, and the guitar in "Mercy, Mercy" does bear a resemblance to Hendrix's style). As some of you might know, the Rolling Stones covered "Mercy, Mercy"; it's the first tune on their classic "Out of Our Heads" LP from 1965. And in general, when you listen to Mick Jagger you hear Don Covay. The second LP on this disc, "See-Saw," features a few tracks cut in Memphis at Stax, with the great rhythm section of Cropper, Dunn, Jones and Jackson. "Sookie Sookie" is a dirty song with some truly cubist drum fills; "The Boomerang" sounds completely nuts; Aretha Franklin covered "See-Saw" and I hope Don made a lotta money from it. Don went on to do one of the classic messin'-around songs of the '70s, indeed of any era, "I Was Checkin' Out (She Was Checkin' In)", but that's a hard one to find since the only comprehensive Covay collection, released back in the '90s, is out of catalog. It would be nice to be able to buy all of his work again; Steppenwolf, who covered his "Sookie Sookie," has just about all their stuff available, and if the world needs to hear Goldy McJohn, it sure as heck needs to hear the great Don Covay."

If ya love the Stones, you'll love this more

Phil Rogers | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 06/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought the reviewer who wrote how Jagger stole his thunder from Don Covay was a little tacky until I actually heard the CD - Covay sounds like Mick, without any of the tension. And that translates into way, way better. And Covay provides all the vocals, and is the master of many types of singing and personas. Look at his picture - he is just that smooth and ever so cool sounding. He be harmonizing and/or improvising with himself from opposite sides of the stereo field. Stops a few centimeters short of becoming "slick", if you dig what I mean.I still like the Stones, but henceforth I'll probably always be laughing a little inside when I listen to them. One must note though, that Mick's voice is as similar to Don's as early Nick Drake's voice was to Donovan's. Neither was slavishly imitating - it was probably more honoring someone whose style the imitator truly loved. It's uncanny how Covay's various vocal inflections are mirrored by Mick, just as Donovan's were by Nick.Anyway . . . this music is astoundingly good, and it is energising, even empowering. The intensity and verve is relaxing, and grabs your guts in an inviting, friendly way. It's smoky, deep, a little dark at times, and never coldly metallic. Lord knows the band members provide good home cookin' . . ."

'one problem"

rollo | usa | 10/02/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent, stereo, two album collection with fine remastering except for one problem. Track one, the title song "Have Mercy" has a tracking error rendering this track unplayable on my computer, my car CD player, my DVD players or my home stereo CD players. All of the rest of the songs on the CD play flawlessly. The error cannot be repaired by scandisc either. I liked the CD so much that I purchased another one from Amazon. The 2nd CD had the same problem. This is a defect overlooked by the people who press CD's for the Koch label. I have other Koch recordings in my collection and have not had this problem. I hope they will place more emphasis on quality control. This is a 5 star CD that I can only give 3 stars due to the error."

Simply amazing

Ron Heck | 11/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm really tired of people writing "Wow, he sounds like Mick Jagger!" After a few listens he really doesn't. This music is MUCH more than just a curiosity piece or a gimmick. I'm also a little annoyed at people complaining about the anthology being out of print. That was missing a few of these songs and absolutely all of these are essential.

With those complaints out of the way, I just want to say that this disc is one of the best I own. The guitar playing and lyrics are everything you've ever wanted to hear in soul music and R&B. It's that good."

Exemplary Double-Bill

Laurence Upton | Wilts, UK | 08/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"By the time Don Covay signed to Atlantic, he was already known as a recording artist and a songwriter. Now one of the decade's greatest soul singers, he had sung in gospel and doo-wop groups, chauffeured for Little Richard, played and recorded with the Little Richard Revue, and written songs that were hits for Gladys Knight and the Pips, Wanda Jackson, Hank Ballard, Chubby Checker, Solomon Burke, Tommy Tucker and others.

His breakthrough came in 1964 on the Rosemart label when Mercy, Mercy hit the Billboard pop charts. Recorded in May with his band the Goodtimers, augmented by Bernard Purdie on drums and Jimi Hendrix on guitar (he also appeared on the flipside, Can't Stay Away, recorded a week later), it paved the way for a string of chart successes and led to Rosemart's distributor, Atlantic Records, buying out his contract and releasing an album later in the year.

Mercy! included both sides of the single; the follow-up Take This Hurt Off Me/Please Let Me Know; You're Good For Me, which had come out on the Landa label; and other unreleased recordings from the same New York October 1964 sessions with the Goodtimers, led by producer Horace Ott. Stylistically varied and accomplished, it was a hugely influential album and immediately inspired a number of the British beat groups of the time, his songs being seized by the Small Faces, the Spencer Davis Group, Georgie Fame, the Rolling Stones and a whole crowd more, as well as closer to home compatriots such as Booker T and the MG's and his former mentor Little Richard (I Don't Know What You Got But It's Got Me also featured Jimi Hendrix).

This two-on-one CD from Koch Records is not only beautifully mastered in panoramic stereo, but adds the complete follow-up album (although only 11 of the 12 tracks comprise the second half of this CD, the twelfth track was merely a repeat of Mercy, Mercy, which opens side one).

See-Saw included the singles The Boomerang (Don had a penchant for dance craze numbers), Please Do Something/A Woman's Love, See-Saw/I Never Get Enough Of Your Love, Iron Out The Rough Spots and Sookie-Sookie and four new tracks. Most of it was recorded in New York with the Goodtimers, some of it at the October 1964 sessions which formed the bulk of Mercy!, but also marvelously features some songs recorded at the Stax Studios in June 1965 with Booker T and the MG's and the Memphis Horns. These are See-Saw, I Never Get Enough Of Your Love, Iron Out The Rough Spots, Please Do Something, A Woman's Love and Sookie-Sookie. The album easily equaled Mercy! and gave him more big hits, See-Saw being revived to great effect by Aretha Franklin three years later (she also won a Grammy with his Chain Of Fools).

Don Covay remained successful and influential throughout the sixties and disco-hungry seventies, but this important chapter in his career is fully illustrated on these exemplary albums."

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