By the mid-60s southern singer Junior Parker had been around long enough to sense that the blues he'd been recording since hooking up with Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlin' Wolf in the late 40s was giving way to soul in popularity with black audiences. Always blessed with a subtly expressive method of singing, including on the dozens of singles he cut during 12 years with Houston's Duke, Parker started making the transition when he signed to Mercuryin 1967.

Produced at Memphis' Royal studio (home of Hi) by Harlem music legend Bobby Robinson using its elite session squad (including trumpeter/arranger Gene 'Bowlegs' Miller), 1967's Like It Is displayed a sophisticated blend of blues-inflected soul, the mellifluous honey of Parker's voice poured over languorous chuggers (Country Girl), Stax-style ballads (You Can Make It If You Try) and surging stompers (Don Bryant's Cracked Up Over You).

After the album and attendant 45s made little chart impact, Parker tried again with 1969's Honey-Drippin' Blues, striking deep with the soul balladry of Percy Mayfield's What A Fool I Was and a gamut of styles on songs by Doug Sahm, Lowell Fulsom and Jesse Stone (some produced by Huey P Meaux). Again success eluded him, Parker's spectacular but overlooked voice was silenced by a fatal brain tumour two years later, making this - the first time these albums have been released on CD - a worthwhile tribute.