In 2022, not many artists can claim to have collaborated with Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Joe Tex, Bobby Womack, Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke and many other big names, let alone release a new album more than 50 years after their debut. But look: American guitar player and singer Herman Hitson aka Hermon Hitson has survived a wild life – his biography calls him a recovering heroin addict, one-time inmate and snake-clearer armed with a flamethrower – and recently in two days he recorded the nine songs of Let The Gods Sing, unstoppable as if he were at the beginning of his career, although his unique dark voice betrays longevity. The experienced pioneer plays here alongside The Sacred Soul Sound Section – Will Sexton (guitar), Mark Stuart (bass), Will McCarley (drums/percussion), Al Gamble (organ) and Art Edmaiston (horns) – forcing everybody to get loose and then tight. The LP captures the adventurous musical spirit of Hitson, with a wicked groove and a mix of funk, rhythm & blues, soul, hard blues, all layered with psychedelia, all raw and authentic. You’ll hear new performances of some of Hitson’s best-known R&B tunes, like Suspicious (an original Hitson song attributed to Jimi Hendrix at the time), and he also re-covers Bad Girl (featuring garage rock legend Jack Oblivian on guitar and Marcella Simien on vocals), written by his longtime bandmate Lee Moses. The record colors wildly outside the lines, takes you on an exciting trip, and leaves you in awe.
Let The Gods Sing, produced by Bruce Watson and Will Sexton, is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Big Legal Mess Records.
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