Fire It Up

Description

Difficult to surprise after a rich musical career of 7 decades? Then listen quickly to "Fire It Up," the first album branded Steve Cropper solo since 1967. Steve Cropper is the guitar on "Green Onions," the first of his many hits with Booker T & the MGs. The MGs became THE house band of Stax Records and Cropper one of the main producers, songwriters, and guitarists of Stax. "Midnight Hour" by Wilson Pickett, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding, "Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd, "Soul Man" and "Hold On I'm Coming" are all hits that bear his mark - you cannot discuss soul music without talking about Steve Cropper. Founding member of the Blues Brothers, Steve reintroduced classic soul to the general public. It is therefore no coincidence that Rolling Stone magazine ranked him in the top 40 of its 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
This album is different from anything currently available because it is made of old grooves. During the lockdown, Cropper worked on stuff he had in mind for years. "Fire It Up" draws its roots from sessions with Felix Cavaliere. Some compositions had not been retained on their two albums but had very good grooves, which were picked up by the album's producer, Jon Tiven. "Jon was pulling out these tracks and he would call me saying, 'You know, this stuff is pretty good,'" Cropper adds. "From there, Jon and I reworked the songs and found song ideas." Cropper is both guitarist and producer of this album. This new album echoes the sounds of yesterday combined with eternally contagious grooves and "Fire It Up" is an instant classic!