The King of the Twist gets his soul heavily psyched

Given the height of Chubby Checker’s fame (his signature recording of Hank Ballard’s “The Twist” being the only single to top the chart on two separate occasions), his Q rating must have really sunk by 1971 to keep this album so deeply buried. Seven years after the last Top 40 singles of his major run (1964’s folk-rock limbo Lazy Elsie Molly and the 1965 Freddie and the Dreamers knock-off Let’s Do the Freddie), Checker waxed this one-off album of psychedelic rock and heavy soul. His voice is immediately recognizable, but the swinging Cameo-Parkway house band was replaced by the plodding rock and blue soul of a nameless European band. Deep organ, screaming guitar solos and heavy rock drumming combine to back vocals freed from the constraints of early ‘60s pop. It’s a treat to hear what else Checker could do with his voice, and it’s a mystery why he’s disavowed these performances (well, maybe it’s not such a mystery why he’s disavowed “Stoned in the Bathroom”); the album still doesn’t appear on his web site’s discography. Originally released in Europe, the album’s always been hard to find in the states. Even this 1982 reissue is tough to locate used. Hopefully Collectors’ Choice will track down the rights for this one when they complete their reissue of Checker’s Parkway material. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

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