Phil Upchurch: "Upchurch"

Told you.  This isn’t Upchurch’s debut, as some believe—he had done “You Can’t Sit Down” and “Feeling Blue” before this—but definitely the signifier of his arrival as a guitarist to be reckoned with.  More Stepney arrangements to build the musical scaffolding, and in fact, the liner notes talk about Stepney’s writing and arranging of opener “Black Gold” (later transformed into Rotary Connection’s timeless “I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun), in which he backs Upchurch with a 36-piece (!!!) band.  Phil also takes on then-contemporary material like “America” and, most daringly, “Crosstown Traffic” and “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return).”  This version of “Voodoo Chile,” in particular, rivals the Hendrix original for sheer force, intensity and distorted guitar grunginess, at the same time making the rhythm section funkier, adding an uptown soul backdrop that complicates AND complements the guitar.  As for Phil Upchurch, he continued to do all kinds of solo and session projects after he made this record, but he never played with such a tense, terse, monstrous tone ever again.