Such was the state of the music industry in 1974 that a chart position of 155 was considered a significant crossover hit for an unproven R&B talent at the time.

I guess that you need to be grateful for small favors, but this album deserved a better fate. Ann Peebles sings with a subtle grace that puts emotion at the forefront, avoiding anything that even resembles histrionics or the overuse of melisma, which became so common among other ‘soul’ singers in later years.

In 1974, ‘soul’ music meant exactly that, an expression of the soul that did not need ornamentation to make its point. Peebles sings with a grace that suited the Hi record label to a tee, resembling a female version of Al Green, but providing most of the material herself (she co-wrote seven of the ten songs featured here). The similarities to Green are due mostly to personnel. Willie Mitchell was the sonic genius who gave Hi Records such a distinctively recognizable sound, and Al Green profited the most from his input, but Peebles also felt the impact of his production style.

It didn’t hurt that the musicians she featured were also virtually identical to those used on Al Green’s sessions, particularly the Hodges brothers (Teenie, Leroy and Charles, on guitar, bass and keyboards, respectively) and the most understated drummer in the world, Howard Grimes. It was a formula that made Al Green a superstar at this time, and that same magic should have rubbed off on Ann Peebles also.

For an album as diverse and tuneful as “I Can’t Stand the Rain”, its beginning is something of an anomaly. The album leads with the strong hit single title track, but the album’s second song “Do I Need You” is a virtual rewrite of its predecessor, even copping that song’s title in its lyric. It gives the initial impression that Peebles is limited in her scope, but the balance of the album proves that she is no one trick pony. “(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On” (not the same song performed by the Supremes) was a Bakersfield country music classic until her slow boiling, emotive version presented here became the definitive interpretation.

Songwriter Earl Randle provided the remaining two cover tunes. “If We Can’t Trust Each Other” approaches infidelity from the same angle as Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds”, with the emphasis placed on perception rather than cold hard fact, but “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” is the album’s second masterwork. Graham Parker tried his hand at the same tune in 1977, and Paul Young enjoyed an international hit with his version in 1984, but it is Peebles’ original recording that withstands the test of time.

The biggest surprise of the album, though, is how Peebles and her co-writers come up with original material that stands up to the masterpieces around them. “Run Run Run”, “You Got to Feed the Fire” and “One Way Street” give the album a sense of consistency without derailing the introspective mood of the album’s focal points. Like the best work of Al Green, “I Can’t Stand the Rain” impresses because of its subtlety, not its ham-fisted excess.

Featured Tracks:

I Can’t Stand the Rain

Do I Need You

Until You Came Into My Life

(You Keep Me) Hangin’ On

Run Run Run

If We Can’t Trust Each Other

Love Vibration

You Got to Feed the Fire

I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down

One Way Street

Livin’ for You – Al Green

Until You Come Back to Me – Aretha Franklin

Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You

Beware

January 1974 - Billboard Charted #155