The Exciting Wilson Pickett

Scalding screams and street-dude swagger, his leather-lunged voice darting in and out of crisp horn riffs and clipped soul rhythms like a champion boxer, Wilson Pickett made some of the toughest soundest records ever. This 1966 effort finds the Alabama-born vocalist attacking a fistful of future soul standards: "In The Midnight Hour," "634-5789," "Ninety-Nine And A Half (Just Won't Do)," and "Danger Zone." He also deftly rearranges R&B classics, notably a scorched-earth rendition of Chris Kenner's oft-covered "Land Of A 1000 Dances" and a punchy take on (Pickett's former group) the Falcons' "You're So Fine." Aside from a prototypically paint-peeling vocal performance on the churchy ballad "It's All Over," the rest of this album is designed to wear the proverbial shine off the dance floor.