Terrific early ‘70s duets from Buck Owens and Susan Raye

Susan Raye was a solid 1970s country hit maker, but having shared peak years with Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette, her long-term fame has been overshadowed and her Capitol catalog has been neglected by the reissue industry. The last collection of her solo work, Varese’s 16 Greatest Hits, was released over a decade ago, and is now joined by this selection of fourteen duets recorded with her mentor, Buck Owens. The pair recorded four albums between 1970 and 1973, launching six chart hits, all of which are featured here. The hits include Buck Owens originals “We’re Gonna Get Together,” “The Great White Horse” and “The Good Ol’ Days (Are Here Again),” as well as endearing covers of the Browns’ “Looking Back to See” and Mickey & Sylvia’s “Love is Strange.”

Owens had been a hit maker for over a decade when he and Raye cracked the charts as a duo. He continued to be a strong presence in the Top 10 for another five years before switching to Warner Brothers and successively peaking lower and lower through the rest of the decade. In 1970, however, Owens could virtually do no wrong; he was co-hosting Hee Haw, and the stinging Bakersfield sound he’d pioneered with the Buckaroos had broadened over the years alongside his public appeal. Owens had long been absorbing pop influences, heard here in the harpsichord on “The Great White Horse,” and the rock ‘n’ roll dynamics of the Buckaroos continues to spark up the twang. Amid all the influences, though, Owens’ voice always retained its country core.

Raye proved to be an excellent traveling partner for Owens’ explorations. The duo’s song list reprises several of Owens’ earlier hits with the Buckaroos, including “Together Again,” “Cryin’ Time,” “I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me),” “Think of Me When You’re Lonely,” and “Your Tender Loving Care.” Many of Owens’ recordings with the Buckaroos were sung with his own voice doubled in harmony, or with the backing of Don Rich, but Raye adds a female dynamic that winningly changes the tenor of the lovelorn lyrics. Owens’ albums with the Buckaroos have been extensively reissued, but most of these superb sides with Raye have previously remained in the vault. Lawrence Zwisohn provides liner notes and the CD is screened in the orange of a 1970s Capitol label, but the gold is in the grooves. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

1969 collection of Stax male-female duets

Sibling and parent/child duets create a family voice that complements the individual singers. But duets between men and women elevate the relationship itself. The truth of country music has lent itself to many power duos, including Conway and Loretta, George and Tammy, and Johnny and June, but the raw emotion of soul music gives its duets another dimension of expressiveness. As the Memphis based Stax label expanded upon the success of its 1960s hard soul singles, the arrangements added strings, the horn charts softened and room was created for male-female duets. As part of the label’s push into album releases, a double-LP’s worth of duets were recorded for 1969’s Boy Meets Girl and released as part of Stax’s massive post-Atlantic Records rebirth.

Mavis Staples sings two album highlights, a conga-heavy deep funk cover of Sam & Dave’s earlier Stax hit “I Thank You” with William Bell, and a powerful Southern soul cover of Erma Franklin’s “Piece of My Heart” with Eddie Floyd. The album mixes up-tempo grooves such as William Bell and Carla Thomas’ “I Can’t Stop” with emotionally crooned ballads that include Eddie Floyd and Cleotha Staples’ “It’s Too Late” and Johnnie Taylor and Carla Thomas’ “My Life.” This reissue drops eight of the original LP’s titles and adds four, including the iconic pre-LP “Private Number,” a misguided mid-80s remake by Dusty Springfield and Spencer Davis, and a pair of tracks from Delaney and Bonnie’s 1968 sessions for Home. Those seeking the original track lineup (and cover art) can find it on a pricier UK reissue. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Listen to “Piece of My Heart” by Mavis Staples and Eddie Floyd