ALBUM: King Curtis, ‘The Complete ATCO Singles’
If you’re diving into this review without knowing much about King Curtis, then you’ve made my day, because now I feel a little less alone. Here’s a guy who I’d heard of and knew maybe a song or two from his catalog, but if you had asked me what his sound was like, you’d get a blank stare as a response from me. Thanks to Real Gone Music, I can now replace that blank stare with something more intelligent, like, “Oh man, you’ve got to hear this!”
I’ll grant you that my new response may not make me look or sound smarter, but it’s sincere; at the very least, I can guide somebody to a much better place by telling them what they’re missing.
Born Cutis Ousley, King Curtis went on to become one of the premiere sidemen of the 1950s and ’60s. If you’ve heard anything from those early years of rock — such as the Coasters’ “Yakety Yak” for example — you’ve heard the King wail his saxophone somewhere along the way.
What’s not as well known — despite his prolific number of releases — is his catalog as a recording artist. Before his untimely death in 1971, he released over two dozen albums and dozens of singles. Most of his catalog appeared on the ATCO label, and the wonderful folks at Real Gone Music have taken the time to compile a three(!) CD set collecting both sides of the 33 singles that were released or scheduled for release on ATCO.
When I popped the first disc of this set into the player, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was familiar with the King Curtis name, but had only heard his biggest hit, “Memphis Soul Stew,” from 1967:
Kinda makes you wonder if Archie Bell and the Drells had this 45 on constant rotation when they developed “Tighten Up,” doesn’t it? Not a bad influence for sure. Curtis plays a mean sax on this one, and his band is tight, man!
But that’s not where this story begins. King Curtis first recorded for ATCO in 1958 and ’59. He released five singles, none of which charted. It’s a pity, because there are some great tracks to be found here. The sound is a nice hybrid of jazz and R&B, very much a product of the times, but that’s a good thing. Check out his fifth single “Heavenly Blues”:
It’s a lovely tune, with some fine production by the classic team of Lieber and Stoller. Alas, like the four preceding singles, there wasn’t much chart action, so ATCO let him go.
Over the next few years, Curtis bounced from label to label, making future attempts by discographers who wanted to chart his course a most trying task indeed. He had a couple of hits — in addition to a very busy work schedule as a sideman — but never stayed at one label for too long. Eventually, in 1965, he ended up back at ATCO and stayed there for the rest of his career.
His first release upon returning to ATCO was an instrumental version of Ben E. King’s “Spanish Harlem.” ATCO literally took the five-year-old backing track of King’s hit, stripped away the vocals, and had Curtis record his saxophone over what was left. While not the most creative way to start things off, his playing is super sweet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oCEtvctjWA
After that, his material goes all over the place. A lot of his single releases are cover versions of hits made famous by others, and the variety of his choices really demonstrates how much of a melting pot Top 40 radio was back in the mid to late 1960s. There’s a whole lot of Motown and Stax material getting the King Curtis treatment, but country tunes like “Ode to Billie Joe” and “Harper Valley P.T.A.” — yeah, you read that right — get a huge vitamin shot of soul from my man Curtis.
He also tackled the easier listening sounds such as “Valley of the Dolls” and “Bridge over Troubled Water” with results that are smooth yet soulful. Classic rock staples like Procol Harum’s “White Shade of Pale” and Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” — again, yeah, you read that right — also made their way into the King’s catalog. He even released a Christmas single, and his versions of “The Christmas Song” and “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” make a holiday single well worth revisiting every time December comes rolling around, but it sounds good any day of the year.
It’s easy to dismiss Curtis by assuming he did nothing but re-record other artists’ material, but that doesn’t give him the credit he deserves. He was a top-notch player and always had some mighty fine musicians filling in the background.
Check out his version of the Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.” While the original version is a classic — albeit overexposed over the past few decades — King Curtis takes the song and gives it a super subtle soulful sound. You quickly forget how tired you were of the original version once you hear him tackle it.
Want something a little more upbeat? Flip the single over and treat yourself to a little “Cook-Out.”
That pairing gives you a good idea as to the variety you can expect from a stack of King Curtis singles. Some of his stuff has a mighty laid back sound, something you can listen to after a long day while sipping on a glass of fine whiskey or whatever you choose. It relaxes you without putting you to sleep.
On the flip side, if you need something to pick you up after a long day and get you ready for the evening or weekend, the good Dr. Curtis can provide you with the cure you crave.
I really need to point out again that one main reason why this stuff sounds so good is because of the players he had backing him up. The members changed over the years, but all these cats could cook!
Exhibit A:
Caveat: The original single split this live version of Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes” — shown only as “Changes” on Curtis’ release — into two parts. Can you imagine having to flip that single over as fast as possible to keep that groove going? By the way, that was taken from the King Curtis album Live at Fillmore West. It was the last LP released in his lifetime — posthumous releases would come after his passing, but I reckon that’s a given — and it’s now at the top of my list of must-have albums based solely on that single.
Anyway, my point is I’m now a bona fide King Curtis fan, and it’s all thanks to this new release from Real Gone Music. I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical about trying to absorb a triple-disc set of mostly instrumental tracks, but there’s plenty of variety here — along with the occasional vocal from Curtis — to keep the whole experience nice and fresh.
And what an experience it is! You get both sides of all 32 of his released ATCO singles, and one final single that was scheduled for release after his death but apparently never made it pass the planning stages. “Ridin’ Thumb” was originally written and recorded by Seals and Crofts, but I don’t think anybody could make them sound any cooler than King Curtis did.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAWRHciGruI
This collection has 66 tracks, all in glorious mono sound. A lot of this stuff never made it to an album, so even if you own every 33 1/3 that bears the name King Curtis, you’re still missing a big part of the picture. The liner notes offer little information about the Curtis’ life, but make up for it with plenty of information about the singles and the players backing him up.
If you’re looking for more information about King Curtis, try to round up issue #20 of the magazine Wax Poetics from December/January 2007. There’s a nifty article by John Kruth called “The King Size Soul of Curtis Ousley” that shares a lot of firsthand anecdotes from those who knew and worked with him.
Oh, and if I haven’t made it clear yet, please do yourself a favor and go buy this latest release from Real Gone Music. You’ll be doing a huge favor for yourself and everybody you share his music with, and you’ll also be doing your part in spreading the word about the late great King Curtis. Hail Ousley!
To get your copy of King Curtis’ Complete ATCO Singles three-disc set, head over to Real Gone Music’s online shop!
