Ahead of the October 20 release of Hits And Misses: The Singles, Eli Paperboy Reed shares “Let’s Straighten It Out,” the fourth single from the 11-track remastered collection of vividly reimagined covers spanning every genre and a trio of originals not on any album and previously only available as 45 rpm singles at the merch table during Reed’s international tours. 

Of the track, Reed offers, “Harkening back to my days living in Clarksdale, MS, I cut a downhome grits and grease version of Latimore’s Southern Soul anthem “Let’s Straighten It Out.”

The album also includes covers of Bob Dylan’s “To Be Alone With You,” a noirish R&B take on Steely Dan’s 1972 hit, “Do It Again,” and Merle Haggard’s “I’m Gonna Break Every Heart I Can,” showcasing a vocal intensity that’s not quite as present in the nearly spoken word original. “Steal Away“ and “I Don’t Know What the World is Coming To” were cut live at FAME in Muscle Shoals, with the swampers David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Spooner Oldham.

Reed’s take on Motörhead’s classic “Ace of Spades” was the first single released from the collection. Reimagined as a soul revival, the pulsing organ, Memphis-style horns, and chicken scratch guitar serve as a backdrop for Reed’s signature vocal wails. So convincing is Reed’s rendition of “Ace” that listeners will wonder if it was Motörhead doing the covering rather than the other way around. The second single unveiled was the high-energy, anthemic party starter, “IDKWYCTD (I Came to Play),” one of three originals featured on the album, was featured in Disney’s Marvel comic series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

Now eight albums deep in a nearly two-decade career, the earliest tracks on Hits And Misses were cut in 2009, following Reed’s career-launching album, Roll With You, and the latest in 2020, just before the release of his critically acclaimed album of Merle Haggard songs, Down Every Road.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Reed spent much of his teens and twenties immersing himself in the juke joint culture of the Mississippi Delta and playing organ and piano in the Chicago church of famed gospel singer Mitty Collier. A series of studio albums earned widespread critical acclaim, with NPR hailing his music as “inspired, raw and powerful” and Uncut lauding its “urgent, electric energy.”

Eli Paperboy Reed Tour Dates

October 19 –  Edmonds Performing Arts Center – Seattle, WA

October 20 –  Hering Auditorium – Fairbanks, AK

October 21 – Alaska Center for the Performing Arts – Anchorage, AK

November 2 – Wachholz College Center – Kalispell, MT

November 4 – Alberta Blair Theater – Billings MT 

Hits And Misses: The Singles Tracklisting:

SIDE A

1. Ace Of Spades
2. Do It Again
3. To Be Alone With You
4. Anytime You Want Me
5. IDKWYCTD (I Came To Play)
6. Let’s Straighten It Out

SIDE B

1. Bad Girl
2. I Don’t Know (What The World Is Coming To)
3. I’m Gonna Break Every Heart I Can
4. That’s Love
5. Steal Away