Spooner Oldham – Pot Luck

I have the original pressing of this album . In the top right, under light , you can see "promotional copy Not for re sale" Now the interesting part is I believe he signed the cover of this album . Does anyone know how I would go about verifying this? Thanks!

In my humble opinon this record isn't worth nearly what it's fetching. It's a cool little obscurity, but there's better bang for your buck depending on what you're looking for, I'd give it 3 1/2 stars though.

So why would this obscurity be so expensive? Well, seemingly because it is so obscure ... as far as I know it only recently saw CD reissue on the Korean Big Pink Music label (paired with Oldham's "Spare Change" album) and as far as I can tell, you're looking at the only copy readily available on the web right now.

It probably isn't a major surprise that today Spooner Oldham's best know for his work as a writer - much of it with Dan Penn. Lesser known is his work as a studio musician and the fact that he's recorded a handful of intriguing solos studio efforts l. Oldham started his professional musical career in the mid 1960s while attending the University of North Alabama. Already a gifted keyboard player, he started playing sessions at Rick Hall's Muscle Shoals Fame Studios. Within a matter of months Oldham had dropped out of college and become Fame's in-house keyboard player. In 1967 Oldham went to work for Chips Moman's Memphis-based American Studios where he started his long-standing collaboration with Dan Penn, enjoying a truly amazing string of hits with the cream of mid-1960s pop and soul artists (The Box Tops, Clarence Carter, Aretha Franklin, James and Bobby Purify, Percy Sledge, etc. etc.). The late 1960s saw Oldham head for Southern California where he focused on sessions work.  

Signed to a contract by Gulf + Western's short-lived Family Records subsidiary, 1973 saw Oldham release his first solo album. Produced by Ed Cobb, "Pot Luck" sported one of the year's ugliest covers, but about half of the songs made up for that lapse in marketing taste.  First a quick warning. Anyone familiar with Oldham's catalog will understand why he's known for his writing and keyboards - his gruff voice managed to make Kris Kristofferson sound truly polished (in contrast, songwriting partner Dan Penn had a far more commercial voice). Still, if you could get over Oldham's raw voice, tales of life's woes and darker sides such as "The Lord Loves a Rolling Stone", "Life's Little Package of Puzzles" and "Easy Listening") had a rugged and odd charm to them. There was no way this was going to appeal to the rank and file of collectors and there are still times when I struggle to get through the collection, but the investment of time and patience does yield some charming results. a personal "best of" package with Oldham covering some of his better known compositions ("Kentucky Grass" and "Cry Like a Baby"). Again, it certainly wasn't very commercial, but the album's quirky factor made it easy to see why the album's become highly sought after by collectors.  (This one also gets on my favorite ugly album covers list.)

- As mentioned above, from a technical standpoint Oldham's voice was certainly an acquired taste - rough, waivery, and borderline in tune. Those limitations were fully displayed on the opening ballad 'The Lord Loves a Rolling Stone'. The funny thing was that in spite of those flaws, the song was actually quite good, aptly displaying Oldham's southern Gospel roots. rating: *** stars
- '1980' was a country-blues ballad that was kicked along by a weird combination of harmonica, Oldham's keyboards and some truly strange synthesizers. The problem with this one was that it simply never kicked into gear ... rating: ** stars
- A fairly mainstream country ballad, 'Life's Little Package of Puzzles' was pleasant but ultimately too cute and too country for my tastes.   rating: ** stars
- Kicked along by a horn arrangement (and the cheesiest 'wind' sounds you've ever heard on an album), 'Julie Brown's Forest' was probably the album's most commercial blues number. Courtesy of Richard Bennett it certainly sported one of the album's best guitar solos. rating: *** stars
- A lame country ballad, 'Easy Listening' was sunk by some painfully flat vocals and an equally uninspired melody. Not a good way to end side one ... rating: * star
- Side two started with an extended, seven part instrumental medley showcasing Oldham reprising what were apparently some of his favorite tunes. There wasn't anything wrong with the performances and it was easy to see why Oldham was an in-demand keyboard player, though the whole affair had kind of a strange lounge act vibe to it. I'm not going to comment on all seven segments - enough to say that most of them included horn arrangements with Bennett turning in some nice electric sitar and fuzz guitar on The Box Top's 'Cry Like a Baby' segment of the medley'. rating: ** stars
- Oldham's cover of the traditional 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken' was certainly heartfelt. Can't say much more about it than that ... rating: ** stars

"Pot Luck" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) The Lord Loves a Rolling Stone (Spooner Oldham - Dan Penn) - 
2.) 1980 (Spooner Oldham - Dan Penn) - 
3.) Life's Little Package of Puzzles (Spooner Oldham) -
4.) Julie Brown's Forest (Spooner Oldham) -
5.) Easy Listening (Spooner Oldham - Freddy Weller) -   

(side 2)
1.) Profile Medley:
i.) When a Man Loves a Woman (instrumental) (B. Eldridge - G. Stewart) - 
ii.) I Never Loved a Man (instrumental) (R. Shannon) - 
iii.) Kentucky Grass (instrumental) (Spooner Oldham - Emory Gordy Jr.) - 
iv.) Cry Like a Baby (instrumental) (Spooner Oldham - Dan Penn) - 
v.) Respect (instrumental) (Otis Redding)
vi.) The New World (instrumental) (arranged by Spooner Oldham - Emory Gordy Jr.) -  
vii.) My Friend (instrumental) (Spooner Oldham - Donnie Fritts) - 
2.) Will the Circle Be Unbroken (traditional - arranged by Spooner Oldham) - 

For anyone interested, Oldham's recording catalog also includes a couple of pre-LP singles:

credited to Spooner and the Spoons
- 1965's 'Hey, Do You Wanna Marry b/w "Wish You Didn't Have To Go" (Fame catalog number 6405)

credited to Spooner's Crowd
- 1966's 'Two In the Morning' b/w 'I'll Be Your Baby' (Cadet catalog number 5533)

credited to Spooner Oldham
- 1968's "My Goodness" b/w "It's Love" (Atlantic catalog number 45-2564)

There's also an excellent 1998 in-concert set with Dan Penn.