What a juxtaposition. I’m so rock ’n’ roll that I was listening to Radio 4’s news while working yesterday. As I did, though, a segment pricked my ears up. Brian May was talking about Steve Cropper and the posthumous record he had played on, Watching The Tide.
May made more sense of the album than any notes I could have written. He sings the superb “My Angels Are Calling,” which also features Billy F. Gibbons, and conceived it as a celebration of Cropper’s life. Its spirituality and references to “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” make it especially poignant.
Listening to the whole record, though, whether the illustrious guests are present or not, there is a relaxed, easy feeling to everything.
That is certainly true of the playful instrumental “Tandoori Chicken,” before the first A-lister appears on “Ticket First.” Eric Clapton’s contribution was so impressive that producer Jon Tiven and Cropper decided to give him a writing credit. Clapton’s response was apparently that anything which put his name next to Steve Cropper’s was fine by him. That probably explains the awe in which Cropper was held.
Then comes the aforementioned “My Angels Are Calling.” May’s vocal is beautifully judged, while Gibbons supplies a solo that only he could have thought of. Given that May completed the song as a tribute after Cropper’s death, its warmth is almost overwhelming.
Ronnie Wood joins in for something more earthy on “Until Now.” His unmistakable slide playing turns it into a wonderfully loose, bluesy ramble. “Blood From A Stone,” meanwhile, needs no famous guest. It is simply Cropper and The Midnight Hour displaying their sensational talent.
Ana Grosh takes centre stage on “Here & Gone,” bringing another dimension to the album, but it is Cropper’s economical, funky guitar playing that runs through everything. That unmistakable touch, honed during his years with Booker T. & The M.G.’s and as one of the architects of the Stax sound, is everywhere.
“It’s Gonna Get Worse,” Roger C. Reale warns on the next track, but the music never does. There is something incredibly accessible and joyous about these songs, even when the lyrics are anything but.
“Down & Out” has a golden, late-evening pulse before Gibbons and Grosh return for the standout “Stand Right Here.” When they sing about being nice as an act of possibility, you believe them. Maybe the very existence of this record proves that anything is possible.
The magnificent “Tip Off To The Rip Off” is timeless soul with anger bubbling underneath. Reale makes it clear that there are scores to settle, but the groove never suffers for the message. “House Of Cards” rounds off the songs with an upbeat blues bounce before a second helping of “Tandoori Chicken” closes things out.
Cropper worked on Watching The Tide with Tiven, who first met him in the early 1970s, and the care lavished on the record is obvious. Cropper heard the finished mixes before his death and told Tiven that it was the best record he had ever made.
The Radio 4 piece described Cropper as possibly the greatest guitarist you’ve never heard of. That might be true for some, but his work on those timeless Stax recordings—and his part in writing some of the greatest and most famous songs ever made—places him among the giants.
Watching The Tide is especially poignant given the circumstances, but more importantly, it is brilliant. If it leads more people to recognise the genius of Steve Cropper, then it has done its job.
Rating: 9/10
