... Into A Real Thing

In the early 70s Stax singer-songwriter-producer David Porter followed in the footsteps of Isaac Hayes, his former collaborator, with four albums for the Enterprise subsidiary: full of similarly elongated arrangements, elaborate instrumentation and supremely soulful vocals.

"Into A Real Thing" is the follow-up to Porter's early 1970 album "Gritty, Groovy And Gettin' It", already available on Stax. Porter, with a new writing partner, Ronnie Williams, worked on this album in Muscle Shoals to create a similarly soulful set, but with a higher number of original songs than its predecessor. One standout track which wasn't their own is the radical revision of the McCoys' mid-60s smash 'Hang On Sloopy'.

Released without a single to promote it, the album still found its way into the Top 10 of the R&B album chart in 1970, and featured on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Pop albums. It still stands up well and its reissue - augmented by three originally unissued bonus tracks - will be acclaimed by Memphis soul aficionados everywhere.