Hi Rhythm
On the Loose (Fat Possum)What happens when you kick all the stars out and let the house band rule the roost? If it’s 1976 and you’re Memphis’ Hi Records – home of Southern soul giants Al Green, O.V. Wright, and Ann Peebles – you get a record that sounds like Al Green on acid. Oddly, the eight-track collection doesn’t encapsulate the classic Willie Mitchell sound of a thousand Wu-Tang samples. That’s part of the mix, of course, as is a heavy dose of Sly Stone-styled funk and an off-kilter country twang. “Purple Raindrops” makes a strong case for most bizarre cut in the Hi catalog, while “You Got Me Comin'” starts up-tempo before crashing into a crescendo and slowing down by half, a precursor to Houston’s chopped-and-screwed clique. The vocals are wildly off-key throughout – often to hilarious effect – but the brothers Hodges (Teenie, Leroy, and Charles) and company cook up some serious stank-faced funk and have a damn good time doing it. (8pm, Stage on Sixth Patio)
This article appears in March 15 • 2013.
