Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham – Sweet Inspiration (The Songs Of Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham)

Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham – Sweet Inspiration (The Songs Of Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham)

Originally released in 2011 by Ace Records, Sweet Inspiration: The Songs Of Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham is a superb 24-track collection celebrating one of the great songwriting partnerships of American Southern soul. Rather than focusing on performances by Penn and Oldham themselves, the compilation brings together original-era recordings by a remarkable cast of artists who interpreted their songs during the mid-to-late 1960s, with the recordings on this set dating broadly from 1965–1969.

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham were central figures in the development of Southern soul and deep soul, writing songs that combined emotional vulnerability with the gospel-influenced intensity and earthy musicality of the Memphis and Muscle Shoals scenes. Their compositions were recorded by some of the most distinctive voices of the era, and this collection demonstrates just how adaptable their songwriting was across soul, R&B, pop and country-influenced material.

The album opens with Percy Sledge's "Out Of Left Field", followed by Dionne Warwick's "I'm Your Puppet", one of the most enduring songs associated with the Penn & Oldham partnership. The Sweet Inspirations' "Sweet Inspiration" provides the collection's title track, while Charlie Rich's "A Woman Left Lonely" and Etta James' "I Worship The Ground You Walk On" demonstrate the pair's ability to write intensely emotional material that could be interpreted in very different musical settings.

The compilation is particularly strong on Memphis and Southern soul, with performances from The Ovations, Solomon Burke, James Carr, Irma Thomas, Tony Borders, Sandy Posey and Joe Simon. James Carr's Let It Happen and Irma Thomas's Good Things Don't Come Easy are especially representative of the deep-soul aesthetic, while Tony Joe White's "Watching The Trains Go By" brings a swampier Southern character to the collection.

There are also plenty of discoveries for collectors. Jeanne Newman's "It Tears Me Up" is a previously unissued Goldwax recording, while the compilation deliberately avoids relying exclusively on the most obvious versions of Penn & Oldham compositions. Ace's own notes highlight less familiar selections such as Arthur Conley's "In The Same Old Way", The Box Tops' "Everything I Am" and Tommy Roe's "Wish You Didn't Have To Go", making the set valuable not only as an introduction but also for listeners already familiar with Southern soul.

With performances by Percy Sledge, Dionne Warwick, The Sweet Inspirations, Charlie Rich, Etta James, Solomon Burke, James Carr, The Box Tops, Tony Joe White, Arthur Conley, Irma Thomas and Barbara Lynn, Sweet Inspiration provides an excellent overview of the songwriting legacy of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. For fans of Ace Records, Kent soul, Memphis soul, Muscle Shoals, deep soul and 1960s R&B, it is a particularly useful songwriter-focused compilation.

Tracklist

1. Percy Sledge – Out Of Left Field – 3:27
2. Dionne Warwick – I'm Your Puppet – 3:01
3. The Sweet Inspirations – Sweet Inspiration – 2:52
4. Charlie Rich – A Woman Left Lonely – 3:14
5. Etta James – I Worship The Ground You Walk On – 2:24
6. The Ovations – I'm Living Good – 2:31
7. Solomon Burke – Take Me (Just As I Am) – 2:59
8. Arthur Alexander – Cry Like A Baby – 2:18
9. Jeanne Newman – It Tears Me Up – 3:08
10. Art Freeman – Slippin' Around – 2:56
11. Tony Borders – I Met Her In Church – 2:26
12. Sandy Posey – Are You Never Coming Home – 2:58
13. James Carr – Let It Happen – 2:36
14. The Box Tops – Everything I Am – 2:16
15. Ted Taylor – Feed The Flame – 2:32
16. Tony Joe White – Watching The Trains Go By – 3:02
17. Arthur Conley – In The Same Old Way – 2:45
18. Ronnie Milsap – Denver – 3:21
19. Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles – Dreamer – 2:21
20. Irma Thomas – Good Things Don't Come Easy – 2:56
21. The Wallace Brothers – I Need Someone – 2:29
22. Barbara Lynn – He Ain't Gonna Do Right – 2:53
23. Tommy Roe – Wish You Didn't Have To Go – 2:15
24. Joe Simon – Let's Do It Over – 2:21