Get on Down With an Otis Redding Production!

Billy Young - Too Much

The outstanding Billy Young ballad "Nothing's Too Much (Nothing's Too Good)" knocked me out when I first heard it on the first Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures CD, and it has appeared on a prior episode of the podcast. Later on I got my hands on the Mercury 45, and, boy, what a treat was in store for me on the flip!

Georgia soul guru Brian Poust is right in saying that Billy Young's '60s records, produced by mentor Otis Redding, really didn't stand a chance in the marketplace, considering that Otis himself was having hits doing essentially the same sort of thing. (Young would go on to record less-derivative material on his own Joyja label and for other concerns in the following decade. See Brian's great post about Young from his Georgia Soul blog.) But I suppose one can never be too upset at having more of the "Otis Redding sound" to enjoy, can they? "Too Much" is a nice dancer featuring Otis' signature horn charts and a spirited performance by Young, whose lighter voice still captures the grit and gusto of his mentor's style.