JACKIE PAYNE STEVE EDMONSON BAND "OVERNIGHT SENSATION" Source: Juke Joint Soul Date: 08/2008 Writer: Ben The Harpman

Following up 2006’s Master of the Game with another masterful release, Payne & Edmondson bring back the magic that brought them their first huge success. Mixing R&B/Soul/Blues/Funk/Gospel influences into some well spun tales, Payne & Edmundson show why they are the West Coast’s answer to Chicago Blues and Memphis Soul. With over 60 years of combined experience touring with numerous big names and playing in countless big venues, you should expect nothing less from such veterans of the scene.

Jackie Payne found the inspiration for the album title and the opening track to the album from a new fan to the band at a festival when he asked them how it felt to be an overnight sensation. Being the ever-present minded artist he was, he wrote the lyric down in his notebook and worked it into lyrics of a song he was working on and came up with this resume song for the “mighty long night” it took him and Edmondson to get on their long road to sure fire success. A typical soul-blues groove over the true-to-life lyrics are a pleasurable groove, but being as I’m a bit prejudice to “name dropping” tunes, it’s personally not one of my favorites.

Pulling from his influence for the sexual and double entendre specialists who were also his influence, Payne pens the booty call “Can I Hit It Again.” Much like his influences latter-career hits (Tyrone Davis, Johnnie Taylor, etc.), this one is all about gettin’ the nookie, and with the funky bass of Bill Singletary and the wonderful zest of Edmondson on guitar, this one is bound to be a southern fried soul crowd pleaser. More southern-fried soul is doled out on the soul-blues of “Uptown Woman Downtown Man,” with more party blues influence talking about how folks get together.

Never forgetting where they came from, Payne shows off his enormous pipes and Edmondson his profound chops in the blues. On numbers like the standard “Mother In Law Blues” or the self-penned “I Got A Mind To Go to Chicago” or the funky Memphis soul-blues “Bag Full of Doorknobs,” these guys know how to get down in the old school blues sound with the new found flavor. Check out Edmondson’s Albert King-like picking on “Doorknobs” for a reference. Even the Wilson Pickett riff that gets lifted on “Midnight Friend,” which was probably no mistake, is funky and bluesy.

Speaking of the traditional, the covers on this album are well chosen. The late Issac Hayes’ Memphis soul ballad “Your Good Thing (Is About To Come To An End)” and the classic R&B medley of “She’s Lookin’ Good/I’ve Never Found A Girl.” Payne’s vocals truly are the highlight of these tracks. And with the gospel-soul of the old Charlie Rich song “Feel Like Going Home,” demonstrates that there is virtually nothing this man can’t sing soulfully, emotionally, and wonderfully. This music is truly born out of time. Most of the original stuff here sounds like a throwback to when R&B/Funk/Soul/Blues were mixed effortlessly in the towns of Memphis and Muscle Shoals. The fact that both of these fellows come from the West Coast is even more outstanding. Given their resume, which you can listen to here, you’ll wonder why they haven’t been a sensation before these current times. With Payne in his early 60s and still very well energized on the road, you can expect a lot more from this duo in the near future. I also must complement the addition of more horns on this record that weren’t present on the last. It truly gave that classic Stax/Atlantic R&B sound that is so cherished from years gone by. With this sound’s continued rise in stock, you’ll bet that this Overnight Sensation will have a mighty long day of success as they continue to write and arrange what is now considered contemporary blues today. Expect another BMA nod to come their way in February and possibly two for the excellent work on this record.