Honest Jons Records began reissuing Capital sides by great soul artists in 2004. To date, they have put out self-titled collections by Candi Staton, Bettye Swann, and most recently, Willie Hightower.


Hightower is a raspy voiced southern soul artist whose vocal delivery recalls Sam Cooke's style. Hightower wears his Cooke fandom on his sleeve with covers of Somebody Have Mercy, You Send Me (and having heard this, I'm tempted to say it rivals Cooke's version, but that's subject to change at any time) and most noteably, he wrote "Time Has Brought About A Change," a response to Cooke's greatest song, "A Change Is Gonna Come." What is both interesting but also sad is that Hightower only released one album, along with various singles through his recording career. He continues to perform live and the liner notes claim that he's planning a second album. For now, fans of southern soul should pick up this collection, all of which were recorded in the late 60s.
posted by Jonathan