A classic deep soul set from ZZ Hill - done for the Mankind label, with production from Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams and Quin Ivy - recorded down at Muscle Shoals, with a sound that's one of the best that Hill ever received! There's a rootsy, personal feel to most of the record - in a mode that works great with ZZ's slightly crackling vocals - and which avoids some of the overdone cliches that were already creeping into some of the southern soul work of the time. The record's also got a unique feel in that it's billed as "Blues At The Opera" - and has a slight story-type structure - with some spoken bits between a few of the tunes, and an approach that's a bit more unified than some of the other records of this type at the time. Blues At The Opera (Communication In Regard To Circumstances) Act I Scene I A1 It Ain't No Use 4:56 Scene II A2 Ha Ha (Laughing Song) 4:25 Act II Scene I A3 Second Chance 5:00 Scene II A4 Our Love Is Getting Better 4:00 Act III Finale A5 Faithful And True 4:15 B1 The Chokin' Kind 3:09 B2 Hold Back (One Man At A Time) 3:05 B3 A Man Needs A Woman (A Woman Needs A Man) 3:14 B4 Early In The Morning 2:47 B5 I Think I'd Do It 2:15
