Eddie Loves You So

Eddie Loves You So came out six years after 2002's To The Bone, and it's also Eddie Floyd's first full-length back on the legendary Stax label since 1974's Soul Street. Call it a comeback if you must, but from the smoky swagger of the opening "'Til My Back Ain't Got No Bone" to the romantic stroll of the closing song "Consider Me" this album sounds as timeless as any of Floyd's old Stax recordings. On Eddie Loves You So he utilized all the old school instrumentation and production values and revisits some chestnuts from his tenure with The Falcons. "Since You Been Gone" and "You're So Fine" were recorded and mixed to sound unapologetically malt shop retro, but then you wouldn't restore a 1957 Cadillac with new Japanese carbon fiber parts and plastic molding would you? If "You Don't Know What You Mean To Me" sounds familiar, that's because Floyd and Steve Cropper wrote it for Sam & Dave who recorded it in 1968. Eddie Loves You So sounds like it was recorded in a time machine, but that's hardly a bad thing, especially if you consider that Floyd used to compose for Otis Redding and Wilson Picket during soul music's heyday.