Go On And Cry: A Soul Selection

Though this CD came out in 2006, it's actually just Wilson Meadows' 1995 album Memories reissued under a different title, with the addition of historical liner notes. A veteran of the recording industry for more than three decades before this was released, Meadows had sung doo wop and soul on a handful of singles in the early to mid-'60s as part of the Capes and the Zircons, continuing to perform soul on sporadic releases by the Meadows Brothers and the Meadows. It's not an astonishing résumé, and this isn't an astonishing solo debut. In fact, it's a pretty mediocre mid-'90s soul album, with bland material (including a remake of a late-'60s Meadows Brothers single on the title track) and the kind of slick production that many fans of the '60s soul with which Meadows made his modest name abhor. Although a slight Southern soul feel peeks through on songs like "Hold on My Heart" and "Tell Him," the music's mostly anonymous in flavor. Meadows sings adequately, but there seems to have been no need for him to re-emerge on record, given that the result won't even especially appeal to retro-soul fans. The liner notes on the reissue do fill in basic details on Meadows' career, with a few quotes from the singer and a discography.