Date: 1973
Release: Hi Records #1650
Cover Art: view / download
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If Al Green was the king of ’70s Southern Soul, then Ann Peebles was his queen. A righteous feminist singer in the tradition of Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday, Peebles made a name for herself singing and writing about women’s all too familiar knowledge of the darker side of love. Her ferocious hit “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” served notice on all cheating men that some sisters weren’t going to always turn the other cheek. Sung in a voice menacing in its restraint, this vengeful opus delivers in overtly angrier tones the feminine message of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”: treat us good or watch out! But Peebles wasn’t only concerned with giving men the big payback. Written in partnership with her husband Don Bryant and Memphis deejay Bernard Miller, “Until You Came Into My Life” features Peebles softly singing of a happier kind of love to be shared with the right man. Fortunately for us, her contentment with love is brief. Peebles is at her gritty best when singing bittersweet songs on love’s blues–a fact made amply clear in her riveting masterpiece of heartbreak, “I Can’t Stand The Rain.” Called the “greatest record ever” by John Lennon, I Can’t Stand The Rain deliciously blends blues, gospel and pop into an incomparable Memphis soul stew. Understandably her biggest hit, the song peaked at #6 on the R&B charts in 1974.

Song for song, I Can’t Stand The Rain represents the cream of Memphis based Hi Records’ creative output, standing right alongside anything Al Green ever recorded for the label. Under the nimble direction of Hi Records head Willie Mitchell, the brilliant Hi house band laid down simmering grooves for Peeble’s vocal explorations. Backed by the scorching horns of Stax veterans Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson, the fluid rhythms of the Hodges Brothers (guitarist Mabon “Teenie,” bassist Leroy “Flick” and keyboardist Charlie), the unstoppable beats of drummer Howard Grimes, and the supporting vocals of singing team Rhodes, Chalmers and Rhodes, there was really no way Peebles could lose. Here was the same winning sound that drove Al Green’s records to the top of the charts.

Yet despite all its strengths, I Can’t Stand The Rain was not the massive success it should have been. Over the years the album faded into relative obscurity, though it remained quite popular in Europe. If not for British label Dennon Records, one of the finest female soul records of all time might have tragically remained out of print. Fortunately this powerhouse of early ’70s Southern Soul is back again for all to enjoy.