A shimmering guitar, punching horns, churchy organ and pleading, sanctified vocals all give Do Right Man the feel of a lost soul collection from the '60s. And in many ways, Dan Penn is the lost soulman. This is only the second album in a careèr that spans nearly 30 years, and it includes many of the songs he wrote or co-wrote during soul music's heyday: "Do Right Woman Do Right Man," "I'm Your Puppet," "You Left the Water Running," "It Tears Me Up" and the best cheating song of all time, "The Dark End of the Street."

Penn's legend claims that his demos were better than the hit versions by Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge and Wilson Pickett; no one can live up to that billing, but Penn proves he possesses a great soul voice, blending elements of Redding, Van Morrison and George Jones. On the lesser-known "Cry Like a Man," he achieves an unsparing intimacy and self-revelation.

The players on Do Right Man include Muscle Shoals stalwarts Spooner Oldham (who is also Penn's songwriting partner) on keyboards and guitarist Jimmy Johnson, but Do Right Man never feels like a re-creation of a dead style. Rather, it's the long-delayed emergence of a major talent. (RS 684)

GUY NICOLUCCI