However one may want to characterize the style of TEXAS – alt. rock, pop-rock and so on – soul would hardly surface in this description, which is why it’s so surprising to hear what the Glaswegians’ forthcoming album, their second-ever live offering, is going to look like. The platter, whose release is scheduled for March 29th, bears the title of “The Muscle Shoals Sessions” to, while referring to “The BBC Sessions” from 2007, reflect the legendary place the band’s recordings took place and features the no less legendary Spooner Oldham on piano.
Coming down to FAME Studios in Alabama, where the likes of Etta James and Wilson Pickett used to work, in 2022, the Scottish ensemble went for barebone renditions of a dozen of their hits and fleshed them out with two soul covers – Charles & Eddie’s smash “Would I Lie to You?” and THE DRIFTERS’ perennial “Save The Last Dance For Me” – all encrusted by Oldham’s ivories. It’s the same keyboards fans know by Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” and Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)” to name but two of the classics Spooner helped create apart from writing. Judging by the video below, the results of this unexpected collaboration are expectedly impressive.
The Muscle Shoals Sessions
1. Halo
2. Mr Haze
3. Summer Son
4. Say What You Want
5. Keep On Talking
6. The Conversation
7. In Demand
8. Would I Lie To You
9. Let’s Work It
10. Black Eyed Boy
11. Everyday Now
12. I Don’t Want A Lover
13. In Our Lifetime
14. Save The Last Dance
