Dan Penn Moments From This Theatre CD

Recorded live in Belfast and Dublin, Ireland; London and South Petherton, England in November 1998.

Dan Penn and Dewey Lyndon "Spooner" Oldham first met as members of the Fame studio house band in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Penn had already had songwriting success at the age of 14 when one of his first compositions became a hit for Conway Twitty. His subsequent collaborations with Oldham and/or producer Chips Moman resulted in a score of hits for such soul luminaries as Percy Sledge, Clarence Carter, and James Carr ("The Dark End Of The Street"). The Penn/Moman song "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" was a massive hit for Aretha Franklin.

Recorded live in the UK and Ireland in 1998, Penn and Oldham work through stripped-down arrangements of self-penned soul and pop hits such as "I'm Your Puppet," "Cry Like A Baby" and the aforementioned James Carr classic. "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" is, unsurprisingly, the clincher. The listener can be forgiven for thinking that he has just stumbled in on two old friends in a casual jam session. The songs are delivered with such intimacy that only the applause betrays the concert setting.

Two unsung heroes of modern soul music are captured here live in performance. Both together and individually, they had a major hand in the R&B music sound of the 1960's and beyond, having written songs like "Do Right Woman" for Aretha Franklin and "Cry Like A Baby" for the Box Tops. This intimate set includes those two as well as "I'm Your Puppet", "Dark End Of The Street" and many more.

Personnel: Dan Penn (vocals, guitar); Spooner Oldham (vocals, keyboards).Q (p.125) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n intimate hour spent revisiting past glories, with Penn's soothing voice and Oldham's soulful keyboards gliding through the night."
Down Beat (p.67) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Still an outstanding tunesmith, Penn leaves Nashville now and then to give performances with sidekick/keyboardist Oldham -- here they're in the British Isles in 1998."
Living Blues (p.40) - "Penn takes the lead on most of the songs. His grainy murmur transforms 'I'm Your Puppet' from a jaunty novelty into a yearning plea of infatuation."
No Depression (1-2/00, p.94) - "...Penn, of the astonishingly soulful vocals, and Oldham, potentate of the slow-groove Wurlitzer...are responsible for sublime pop and soul songs....[this album] is a master class with two great soul men."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.131) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Penn's voice -- weathered yet unmistakably smooth -- is in top form, and the recording is crisp enough to make the listener feel like they were there."
Mojo (Publisher) (1/00, p.30) - Ranked #38 in Mojo Magazine's "Best of 1999"