Craig Oldham

The songs of Will Oldham have been written most often for the aliases of Palace or Bonny. Their identities, kept necessarily separate from Will’s, the songs were written to create a singular encounter, to be shared among those who choose to listen.

Recorded at the renowned 'Fame Recording Studio' in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, during the summer of 2022, the album features twelve of Texas’ greatest hits, and two covers ('Would I Lie To You' by Charles and Eddie and 'Save The Last Dance' by The Drifters) - reimagined and laid bare. Stripped back to their bare bones, guided by the soulful voice of Sharleen Spiteri, accompanied by the delicate piano lines of Spooner Oldham, the songs simply shine in this format and prove their worth as sheer standalone timeless classics.

The definitive collection of lyrics from three decades of songwriting.

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 RightWoman, 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. A great album !!!

We have received many requests to add Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham to our songwriter series. It’s never really been about if we would, so much as when. With 2011 being something of a “Year Of Southern Soul” for Ace and Kent, what better way to kick it off than with a genius gathering of 24 of the best songs ever to bear their names below the title. “Sweet Inspiration” does a bang-up job of assembling the key songs Dan and Spooner wrote together during the 1960s and early 1970s. A quick look at the track listing will show prospective buyers that my co-compiler Bob Dunham and I have tried hard to make sure that there’s a version of every major Penn and Oldham composition included. We haven’t always chosen the obvious versions, so there will be some nice surprises here for even the most avid collectors. It was difficult to bring what started out as a massive wish list down to just 24 selections, but we think our choices do justice to the performers of the songs and, most importantly, the writers.