Moments from This Theater

After starting out in Muscle Shoals Alabama and then moving on to Memphis to work with Chips Moman at American Studios, Dan Penn proceeded to co-write and produce several '60s soul hits for artists like Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, James Carr, and blue-eyed soul band the Box Tops. Some of the classics Penn and Memphis/Muscle Shoals' studio veteran Spooner Oldham wrote include "Cry Like a Baby," "Sweet Inspiration," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," "The Dark End of the Street," and "I'm Your Puppet." These and several other of their tunes are featured on Moments From This Theatre, a collection of live duets taken from 1998 dates in Dublin, London, and South Petherton, Somerset. With Oldham laying down a tasty soul base on the Wurlitzer piano and Penn strumming easeful guitar chords and singing in his sweetly powerful way, the duo glide through 14 gospel-inflected, country-soul gems, eloquently touching on southern living, loneliness, and the joys and trials of love. There's also a good dose of humor here in songs like "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers" and "Memphis Women and Chicken." An intimate and inspiring recording by two of the unsung giants of southern soul. ~ Stephen Cook