Ann Peebles Part Time Love

There were so many competent records coming out of Memphis that any burgeoning greatness can only be detected by a careful listening. Ann Peebles deserves that kind of extra care. Her style is so subtle and economical that the finer qualities of her talents might be passed over as being merely competent. This would be a crime because little Ann has so very much to offer. Ann stresses the melody (rather than rhythm for its own sake). This is not to say she can’t sing funky; she can and does very effectively. It just means Ann shines extra brightly on the slower bluesy numbers. For example “Give Me Some Credit” is such a moving lament, filtering faint traces of early Smokey Robinson and the album’s two most tender cuts, “I Still Love You” and “Steal Away” are the places where Ann Peebles makes such a great impression. These are the kinds of song that become “personal” classics. Ann sings seven up-tempo numbers on which she illustrates her tight, full-bodied voice and shows why she’s presently way up on R&B charts all over the country. Her renditions of “It’s Your Thing,” “Part Time Love,” and “Make Me Yours” are unfettered delights. Ann Peebles goes past the apparent and into the sublime. She stands beyond the predictably competent. And you know that’s where it’s at.