James Govan – Wanted – The Fame Recordings CD (Kent)

James Govan is an exceptional Southern soul vocalist who was highly influenced by Otis Redding. A regular feature on Beale Street today, he has a very sparse discography, until recently limited to a handful of recordings for David Johnson’s Broadway Sound and a couple of singles for Fame.

During Ace Records’ trawl of the Fame Records vault we found another 12 tracks to add to his four previously released sides, and “Wanted: The Fame Recordings” is the definitive document of his time at the Muscle Shoals studio.

Featuring two different periods of the Fame Gang with sessions from 1969 and 1972, musicians heard backing James include Clayton Ivey, Freeman Brown, Travis Wammack and Duane Allman.

The new songs include a selection written for James by George Jackson such as ‘I Bit Off More Than I Can Chew’, and ‘You Get A Lot To Like’. His covers of Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’ and ‘Just Like A Woman’ are fascinating and compelling.

The booklet includes many previously unseen colour photos of James at work in Fame Studios as well as an in-depth note by Southern soul expert Martin Goggins. – Ace Records