A bit of the South comes north

Smack in the middle of what likely was our last 70-degree weekend of the year, Saturday was one of those days that brought a deep blue sky against which Wisconsin’s fall colors exploded.

With the rest of my family scattered on the annual farm business trip and a long weekend with a friend, I had the day to myself.

So I made the rounds of record stores not often visited, traveling an hour to reach the first, then another hour to reach the second. And wouldn’t you know, on a day when I had lots of time to look and a decent enough budget, there wasn’t much to be found.

I spent $12 on five records. (Two of them were Christmas records. Believe it or not, I’m already preparing for the return of our Three Under the Tree series.)

Before I ramble on too long, here are a couple of cuts from the best record I found Saturday.

“Let’s Go Get Stoned” and “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby,” Bonnie Bramlett, from “Lady’s Choice,” 1976.

Although I heard a bit of Delaney and Bonnie in the early ’70s, I’m late to the party when it comes to really digging her voice. I’m catching up, thanks to this album, a collection of covers drenched in Southern soul.

“Let’s Go Get Stoned,” a hit for Ray Charles in 1966, gets the full Muscle Shoals treatment, complete with some laid-back Hammond organ from Barry Beckett and some big horn touches. (Did you know it was written by Valerie Simpson, Nickolas Ashford and Joshie Jo Armstead?)

“Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby,” the old Jimmy Reed tune, gets the Allman Brothers treatment with Dickey Betts on the slide guitarist and Chuck Leavell pounding the piano. That’s Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie duetting with Bramlett on this one.

Want to hear more? We have Side 2 of “Lady’s Choice” over at our other blog, The Midnight Tracker. Enjoy.