''Straight from the Heart'' is the third studio album by American

Memphis soul Memphis soul, also known as the Memphis sound, is the most prominent strain of Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn line ...

singer

Ann Peebles Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s for Hi Records. Two of her most popular songs are " I Can't Stand the Rain", which she wrote with her husband ...

. It was released on the Hi label in 1974 and included the songs "

I Pity the Fool "I Pity the Fool" is a soul blues song originally recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961 for his first Duke Records album, '' Two Steps from the Blues''. Many music writers believe it was written by Joe Medwick, although Duke owner Don Robey (using the ...

" and "

Breaking Up Somebody's Home "Breaking Up Somebody's Home" (titled "I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home Tonight" for the album version) is a song written by Al Jackson Jr. and Timothy Matthews, originally recorded by Ann Peebles for her 1971 album ''Straight from the He ...

Background

Peebles' second album, ''Part Time Love'', in 1971 was her first record to impact the US R&B albums chart, and she began recording her third studio album at the Royal Recording Studios in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

later that year. Peebles' enlisted Willie Mitchell to produce the album and songwriters such as Don Bryant (with whom she was in a relationship and would go on to marry in 1974) and George Jackson. ''Straight From The Heart'' also features the

Hi Rhythm Section The Hi Rhythm Section was the house band for hit soul albums by several artists, including Al Green and Ann Peebles, on Willie Mitchell's Hi Records label in the 1970s. The band included the three Hodges brothers, organist Charles Hodges, bassis ...

, the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

for the Hi label. ''Straight from the Heart'' was released later in 1971 and the song "

", originally recorded by

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

in 1961, became a minor hit for Peebles, as it peaked at no. 85 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. This was her second song to impact the US singles chart, after "

Part Time Love "Part Time Love" is a 1963 R&B song written by Clay Hammond and first recorded by Little Johnny Taylor. It was his second release and his most successful on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart. "Part Time Love" was number one on that chart for one ...

" reached no. 45 in 1970.

Reception

''Straight from the Heart'' was well received by critics, with

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

awarding the album 4.5 out of 5 stars in his

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review. Unterberger described the album as "not only a triumph for Peebles, but 'Straight from the Heart''illustrated how the Hi label had surpassed its crosstown

Stax Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface (API) to read and write XML documents, originating from the Java programming language community. Traditionally, XML APIs are either: * DOM based - the entire document is read in ...

rival for quality Memphis soul in the early '70s". In his 1981 review of ''Straight from the Heart'' in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'', music journalist

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

gave the album an A− and wrote that "why gritty singing like this can't be heard on 'progressive' radio when a borderline hysteric like

Lydia Pense Lydia Pense (born Lydia Jane Pense in San Francisco, California on December 14, 1947) is an American rock-soul-jazz singer who, since 1969, has performed with the band Cold Blood. Critics have compared her style to powerful singers including ...

is an automatic add ought to be investigated by the

Civil Rights Commission The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...

." The album was also a modest commercial success for Peebles, becoming her first record to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200, where it peaked at no. 188. She would go on to enjoy further commercial success with her next album, ''I Can't Stand the Rain'', in 1974.

Track listing

Side A

# "Slipped, Tripped And Fell In Love" ( George Jackson) – 2:25 # "Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness" ( Don Bryant, Ann Peebles) – 2:37 # "What You Laid On Me" (Peebles,

Denise LaSalle Ora Denise Allen (July 16, 1934 – January 8, 2018), known by the stage name Denise LaSalle, was an American blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who, since the death of Koko Taylor, had been recognized as the "Queen of ...

) – 2:22 # "How Strong Is A Woman" (

Bettye Crutcher Bettye Jean Crutcher (September 16, 1939 – October 20, 2022) was an American songwriter. She was a staff writer for Stax Records.Peter Barker"Bettye Crutcher, Stax Records contributor and pioneering songwriter, dies at 83" ''Tennessee News'', ...

) – 2:57 # "Somebody's On Your Case" (Earl Randle) – 2:35

Side B

# " I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home Tonight" (Jackson, Timothy Matthews) – 2:28 # "I've Been There Before" (Bryant, Peebles) – 3:06 # "

I Pity The Fool "I Pity the Fool" is a soul blues song originally recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961 for his first Duke Records album, '' Two Steps from the Blues''. Many music writers believe it was written by Joe Medwick, although Duke owner Don Robey (using the ...

" (Deadric Malone) – 2:53 # "99 Pounds" (Bryant) – 2:15 # "I Take What I Want" ( David Porter,

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

Teenie Hodges Mabon Lewis "Teenie" Hodges (November 16, 1945 – June 22, 2014) was an American musician known for his work as a rhythm and lead guitarist and songwriter on many of Al Green's soul hits, and those of other artists such as Ann Peebles and Syl J ...

) – 2:30

Personnel

*Ann Peebles – vocals *Rhodes, Chalmers And Rhodes – backing vocals *Leroy Hodges – bass *James Mitchell – bass saxophone *

Howard Grimes Howard Lee Grimes (August 22, 1941 – February 12, 2022) was an American drummer, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles and others in the 1970s. Life and career Born in Memphis, Tennessee on August 2 ...

– drums *Teenie Hodges – guitar *Howard Craft – lacquer cutting *Charles Hodges – organ, piano *Bud Lee – photography over & liner* Willie Mitchell – producer * Andrew Love, Ed Logan – tenor saxophone *Jack Hale – trombone * Wayne Jackson – trumpet

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Hi Records albums Albums produced by Willie Mitchell (musician) Ann Peebles albums Albums recorded at Royal Studios