O.V. Wright A Nickel And A Nail And Ace Of Spades (LP, 180g Vinyl)

(Real Gone) 10 tracks


Sometimes great things come in humble packages. The neglected cover of this 1972 album makes it look like a bootleg, and the countless misspellings and inconsistencies in the album and song titles make it clear that whoever was in charge of proofreading at the Back Beat label must have taken the day off when the cover was circulated. But no matter... Rarely has the mundane met the sacred with such emotional force as on O.V. Wright's A Nickel and a Nail and Ace of Spades.

That makes it one of the greatest Southern soul records ever recorded. Mind you, pretty much every Willie Mitchell-produced record with the Hi Records Rhythm Section and the Memphis Horns has it all. But it's the raw emotion of Wright's vocals, the gospel style mixed with the pure, pleading pain, that drives this collection of songs to sheer transcendence. Record buyers have noticed, too: "A Nickel and a Nail," "Ace of Spades" and "Eight Men, Four Women," three of O.V. Wright's biggest hits ever, were all on this album. But basically, the whole thing is a masterpiece that we're reissuing on black 180-gram vinyl to preserve its brilliance for posterity.