5514 - DON NIX AND FRIENDS - Going Down: The Songs Of Don Nix (2002)
DON NIX & FRIENDS
''GOING DOWN: THE SONGS OF DON NIX''
OCTOBER 1 2002
49:20
1 /Black Cat Moan/3:16
Don Nix
2 /On the Road Again/3:17
Billy Crain / Bob Dylan / Don Nix
3 /Right Where You Want Me
Don Nix / Jon Tiven / Sally Tiven/3:11
4 /Same Old Blues/3:26
J.J. Cale / Don Nix
5 /Lucinda/3:26
Gary Nicholson / Don Nix
6 /Palace of the King/3:29
Donald "Duck" Dunn / Don Nix / Leon Russell
7 /Going Down
Don Nix / Lou Reed/5:56
8 /Going Back to Luka/3:27
Don Nix
9 /Like a Road Leading Home/4:47
Don Nix / Dan Penn
10 /One More Repossession/4:33
Gary Nicholson / Don Nix
11 /Living on the Highway
Don Nix / Leon Russell/4:09
12 /Plastic Flowers/3:29
Gary Nicholson / Don Nix
13 /Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven/2:54
Don Nix
Bonnie Bramlett - Vocals
Billy Crain - Guitar
Steve Cropper - Guitar
Mike Duke - Piano, Piano (Electric)
Audley Freed - Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
David Hood - Bass
Jackie Johnson - Vocals
Bobby Manuel - Guitar
Susan Marshall - Vocals (bckgr)
John Mayall - Harmonica
Max Middleton - Piano
Greg Morrow - Drums
Don Nix - Vocals
Dan Penn - Vocals
Michael Rhodes - Bass
Billy Lee Riley - Harmonica, Vocals
Dave Smith - Bass
Jon Tiven - Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Leslie West - Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Tony Joe White - Guitar
Reese Wynans - Organ
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
The legendary R&B songwriter who penned at least one undeniable classic in this album's title track returns from nearly a decade-long retirement, calls in some notable friends, and re-records a handful of his better songs under the watchful eye of producer Jon Tiven (Wilson Pickett, tribute albums to Otis Blackwell and Curtis Mayfield). His voice is an acquired taste, and the majority of these tunes are performed as standard swamp rock fare, yet this is a decent career recap from the 60-something musician/producer/songwriter. Although Leon Russell (who gave Don Nix his biggest break by hiring him to produce and write songs for Freddie King) is conspicuously M.I.A., old Mar-Keys bandmate Steve Cropper is aboard, as are friends Dan Penn, Bonnie Bramlett, John Mayall, Tony Joe White, and Bobby Whitlock. Queen's Brian May even guests (overdubbed) on a track, as does Mountain man Leslie West. For better or worse, none of these marquee names are particularly prominent in the mix. The majority of the tracks are dominated by Nix's solid studio band which includes ex-Double Trouble man Reese Wynans on organ, guitarist Tiven, Wet Willie keyboardist Mike Duke, and Muscle Shoals legend David Hood on bass. Even with some good songs, it's obvious why Nix's previous solo albums -- all but one of which remain out of print as of 2002 -- never made much of an impression. His thin vocals are non-descript at best, and off-key at worst. Nix's own versions of these songs remain inferior to the more famous covers from Freddie King, Albert King, John Mayall, and Jeff Beck. A few new compositions, like the surging "One More Repossession," chug along with moderate energy and enthusiasm, but even though everyone seems to be trying their hardest, sparks just don't fly during the majority of the album. Label owner Jerry Gordon's liner notes provide a short but snappy synopsis of Nix's colorful life and the 12-page booklet includes rare historical snapshots. Ultimately, this is a well-intentioned project with some unpretentious, rootsy performances that just never gets off the ground.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Kurutz
Author of the blues classic "Going Down," Don Nix is one of the more obscure figures in Southern soul and rock. As a producer he has worked with Freddie King, Jeff Beck, and Furry Lewis, among others; as an artist, he has released solo albums on Shelter and Elektra, as well as smaller labels like Icehouse.
Born in Memphis, Nix attended Messick High School with Donald "Duck" Dunn and Steve Cropper of the famed Stax house band Booker T. & the MG's. After graduation, Nix spent a short stint in the Army before returning to Memphis, where he joined Dunn and Cropper, along with Wayne Jackson, Packy Axton, Terry Johnson, and Smoochy Smith, as a saxophonist in the Mar-Keys.
The group scored a smash hit with the instrumental "Last Night" on the Satellite label (later Stax/Volt), and Nix went on the road with the group, while a house band from Memphis attempted to recorded follow-up hits under the Mar-Keys' name.
After the success of "Last Night" fizzled, Nix returned to Memphis and spent the next several years as a horn for hire, occasionally playing gigs with a re-formed version of the Mar-Keys or backing Stax stars such as William Bell and Carla Thomas.
In the mid-'60s, Nix began making trips to L.A. to visit Leon Russell and Carle Radle, friends he'd met through touring. The friendship with Russell, a big producer at the time, landed Nix a position in Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars backing one of Russell's acts, Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Their friendship also provided Nix the opportunity to see how a session was put together, and he began engineering and producing at studios around Memphis such as Stax and Ardent.
Nix spent the next several years writing and producing for artists such as Freddie King, Albert King, Sid Selvidge, and Charlie Musselwhite. In 1970, he signed a recording deal with Shelter Records (co-owned by his old friend Leon Russell) and released a solo album, In God We Trust and followed it a year later with Living by the Days. Neither album sold very well, and after a few more attempts, Nix returned to recording other artists, producing records for John Mayall and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.
After having been absent from record industry throughout most of the '80s, Nix relocated to Nashville and began writing and producing again. He published a book about his experiences titled Road Stories & Recipes, and re-recorded many of his classic tracks with musicians such as Brian May and Steve Cropper for 2002's nostalgic Going Down. He followed this with I Don't Want No Trouble in 2006, and Passing Through -- both on his Section Eight Productions label -- and in 2009, he released Hobos, Heroes and Street Corner Clowns for Concord's revitalized Stax imprint. In 2013, Real Gone Music reissued Living by the Days.
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