Memphis Grease

Soul man John Nemeth kicks off the aptly titled Memphis Grease with a convincing cover of Otis Rush’s “Three Times a Fool,” which answers any questions about whether this Idaho–born former truck driver can hold his own among the Memphis elite. Working with The Bo-Keys (a group of veteran Memphis players who made their names backing Al Green, O.V. Wright, and Rufus Thomas), Nemeth sang his heart out at producer Scott Bomar’s Electraphonic Studios for three intense days. Though the album primarily features Nemeth’s wise-beyond-their-years originals, the three covers—the aforementioned Rush tune, Howard Tate’s “Stop,” and Roy Orbison’s “Crying”—lend a depth of experience and illustrate smart taste. There are no cut corners here. The horns crank up classic Stax-like riffs, and the rhythms always land back in the pocket where good soul music finds the elasticity to move forward. Nemeth’s own “Sooner of Later” and “If It Ain’t Broke” sound as if they could’ve been written back in Stax’s mid-'60s prime.