Gimmie Shelter

Striking when the iron was hot, Merry Clayton’s solo debut album arrived less than a year after her remarkable contribution as backing singer to the Rolling Stones’ 1969 hit “Gimme Shelter.” As the album title reveals, she takes the tune for a spin in her own vehicle, giving it the burning urgency of a Stax hit. Though her voice doesn’t break here with the same awesome timbre heard on the original recording, this version is easily more danceable. Clayton’s voice does break in all the right places on an opening cover of James Taylor’s “Country Road,” playing more soulfully than ol’ J.T. may have ever intended it to sound. She also turns the Paul Simon penned “Bridge Over Troubled Water” into a sunny ballad hoisted by grinding Hammond organ and gospel-tinged backing vocals that inject a healthy dose of Sunday-morning spirituality into the song. Bookending with Van Morrison’s “Glad Tidings” was ambitious because his version on Moondance is already plenty soulful, but Clayton’s uplifting version (along with some stellar musicianship) makes this one the album’s jewel.