Eddie Floyd - Down To Earth (1971/2019)

The bold, ambitious Down to Earth represents Eddie Floyd's most daring break from the classic Stax sound. Produced and arranged in collaboration with the great Steve Cropper, its muscular soul sound draws heavily on psychedelic rock sensibilities, favoring extended jams, mutating tempos, and thick, bubbling rhythms. Cropper's scorching guitar is as much a focal point as Floyd's raw, desperate vocals. Together they transform Curtis Mayfield's aching "People Get Ready" into electric kool-aid gospel, while the blues-rock epic "When the Sun Goes Down" owes as much to Cream as Willie Dixon. If anything, Down to Earth proves too radical a departure, pushing Floyd so far afield that critical elements feel forced and inauthentic. Still, when the risks pay off (e.g., the lysergic-minded "Linda Sue Dixon"), the record soars.