Delaney & Bonnie

Now that Eric and George have given their imprimature, D&B's first release, on Elektra, is beginning to sell as it should. This one was recorded much earlier, with Duck Dunn and Jack Nix producing instead of Leon Russell, but released much later. Perhaps if I heard it first I'd like it more--or rather, even more, since I already like it--but I don't think it compares to the Elektra album (rated A plus in an earlier CG). The warmth that suffuses their music is obscured more than once by some perfunctory soul-shouting, and the arrangements are less than inventive. Nice enough, though. (Grade: B+)