A Nickel and a Nail and Ace of Spades: 180gm Vinyl LP

Sometimes great things come in humble
packages. The ramshackle cover art for this
1972 album makes it look like a bootleg, and the
rampant misspellings and inconsistencies in the
album and song titles make it clear that whoever
was in charge of proofreading at the Back Beat
label must have taken the day off when the art
was circulated. But no matter…seldom has the
secular met the sacred with as much emotional
force as on O.V. Wright’s A Nickel and a Nail and
Ace of Spades. That’s what makes it one of the
greatest Southern soul records ever waxed.
Mind you, just about any record produced
by Willie Mitchell and featuring the Hi Records Rhythm Section and the
Memphis Horns will pack a punch. But it’s the raw emotion of Wright’s vocal delivery, the
gospel styling stirred in with the pure, pleading anguish, that pushes this collection of songs
over the top to sheer transcendence. Record buyers noticed, too; “A Nickel and a Nail,” “Ace
of Spades,” and “Eight Men, Four Women,” three of the biggest hits O.V. Wright ever had,
were all on this album. But really, the whole thing is a tour de force, which we’re reissuing on
180-gram black vinyl to preserve its brilliance for posterity.