Howard Peters

Another of those Southern soulmen whose recording career was very short, Howard Peters cut these sides in Nashville in 66/67, probably at 1 session, for local producer Jerry Crutchfield, who leased the product to Decca subsidiary Coral. Peters had a pleasant well modulated baritone, without ever being able to set the world on fire, but his voice was very well suited to the heavily countrified flavour of the excellent The thrill will still be new. This deep beauty has much the same feel that Crutchfield brought to his more famous productions for Percy Wiggins on Atco, with the guitar fills particularly impressive. The other ballad Peters recorded Tell me it’s alright wasn’t quite in this class but is still well worth a listen. The uptempo “Tighten up the slack” is a splendid toe-tapper featuring a pounding beat and some excellent horn work. Nashville soul of this period often featured bigger horn sections than Memphis cuts – me likee! Especially the way the baritone sax is brought up out of the mix. Note also the very early involvement of Harrison Calloway here.

 

 

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