Everytime It Rains
Na Allen
Ronn Records
1970

I don’t know when I bought this record. I don’t know where I was or who I was with. I don’t know if it was in America or here in the UK. I don’t know how much I paid for it. I have no memory of bringing it home. I can, though, tell you exactly why I bought it.

First of all it’s Na Allen. That’s reason enough right there. A great singer who released half a dozen records, all of them gems. My favourite among them is ‘Thanks For Nothing’, a sublime slice of southern soul that sells for sums far beyond my limited funds.

Secondly he’s Denise LaSalle’s brother. That’s southern soul royalty right there.

Third it’s on Ronn Records. Ronn was a cornerstone of southern soul, operating out of Shreveport Louisiana and giving us record after record of pure southern goodness.

Fourth it’s produced and arranged by Rudy Robinson, always a name to watch.

And fifth, it looks so great! How can you not buy such a beautiful thing?

I put on ‘Everytime It Rains’ and remind myself that the most beautiful records, the records that most directly move and excite me, are imperfect. They have a sense of serene melancholy and longing; they acknowledge three simple facts: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, nothing is perfect.

Three minutes of sublime imperfection. What more can you ask?

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