Album of the Day

“Ben E. King reaches so deeply into the emotions of a song it is hard to imagine, for the moment, that he could sing anything else as well,” said label exec Bob Altshuler in his liner notes to DON’T PLAY THAT SONG. “This is only an illusion because it occurs in turn with each of the twelve selections in the album.” King’s third solo set features the handiwork of such esteemed songwriters as Doc Pomus, Phil Spector and the team of Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, who co-produced the 1962 Atco collection. Highlighted by singles “Ecstasy,” the title track and the immortal “Stand By Me,” the album is well-engineered and echoes the majestic arrangements that made King a star with The Drifters. Ignore the title to DON’T PLAY THAT SONG – you’ll want to listen to all of these tracks repeatedly!