Wilson Pickett - It's Too Late LP

Upfront (1969)

Since I'm out of Blues Brothers 7"s now, I figured I'd tackle some other records I've had building up for a while.  My love of The Blues Brother first led me to Wilson Pickett.  They called him out by name on the version of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" that appears on Best Of The Blues Brothers.  "Land of 1,000 Dances" was used during the end credits of The Great Outdoors.  My dad also had his song "Funky Broadway" that was on some mix tape of his that he'd play a lot.  I thought what I heard sounded so much like the Blues Brothers and wanted to know more.

I've had a few Wilson Pickett best of's since I was a kid.  I also had grabbed the reissue of The Exciting Wilson Pickett on Record Store Day a few years ago, but last year I decided I wanted to get the rest of his full length albums (at least to a point, I'm not interested in everything he did once we hit the 70s).  As many had been reissued over the last few years, my wife picked me up some for my birthday and Christmas last year.

One that wasn't among the more high profile reissues was his first album from 1963, It's Too Late.  I ended up scoring a sealed copy of the 1969 reissue that came out on Up Front records (based out of Linden, NJ if you're curious).  I'm pretty shocked that the condition of this thing is so good.  Maybe it's a more recent reissue than from 1969, but it sure seems like it's of that era to me based on the artwork and packaging.

The only song on this album that I was previously familiar with was the first track, "If You Need Me," which appears on a greatest hits album I've had since I was a kid.  Everything else are songs that are new to me.  They do sound like something from really early in his career.  They're missing a little bit of the polish and the energy he'd manage to capture later.  That said, there are still some incredible songs on here like "I'm Gonna Love You," "Baby Call On Me" and "I Can't Stop."  Not sure this is one that I will listen to as much as some of his other albums, but some of these songs are stone cold hits.

Wilson Pickett - "If You Need Me":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnK4k_EnXSo

Wilson Pickett - "I'm Gonna Love You":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iho8q7jvXuo

Wilson Pickett - "I Can't Stop":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMrXkRZKUcs