Within a few moments of putting this album on I thought, “Whoa, this guy should’ve been massive.” Well, silly me because after a reading of the record’s copious liner notes I learned that the song “Treat Her Right,” for which this record takes its name, was #2 on the U.S. pop charts in 1965, held back from #1 by some unknown band called The Beatles and a long-forgotten song called, “Yesterday.” Yup, I can really call ’em.

Anyway, now that we’ve got that out of the way, we can press on with a review of this excellent compilation of the singles Roy Head and his band, The Traits, did for the Back Beat label over the span of just two years, 1965-1967. Born in Three Rivers, Texas, Roy Head formed The Traits in San Marcos in 1955, when he was 14, at the same time that another unknown, this one named Elvis Presley, was trying to make a go of it. So it’s no surprise that while Roy Head is often billed as a blue-eyed soul singer, there is plenty of r&b, rockabilly, and good ol’ rock and roll in this musical stew.

The record starts off with “Nobody But Me (Tells My Eagle When To Fly),” released in 1967, and it’s a fine statement of purpose, even if it’s one of the later songs here. Horns pump, Roy sings hard, clear, and soulful, and even throws in a James Brown-esque “Hit me!” But gears shift quickly with the previously unreleased “One More Time,” an Eddie Cochrane-style rockabilly number that purrs right along. We get to the aforementioned “Treat Her Right” on track three, one of several originals written by Head and/or bassist Gene Kurtz, and it starts off with some surf-y riffing before Roy offers a husky blueprint for seduction. The song ends with plenty of brass, and it’s hard to imagine a song offering 2:08 of no-frills musicality going to the top of the charts these days.

Head proves he’s also a blues singer of considerable feeling on “Driving Wheel” while “Apple Of My Eye” takes a slightly salacious R&B tact with guitar to match. “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” is pure soul again, packing in plenty of horns, rat-a-tat snare, and exuberant yelps in just over two minutes, Head’s smooth voice pushing into a little gravel. The man could sing.

“Pain” is a slow burning soul-blues that takes its time getting to its sorrowful end. It might be my favorite song on the album, and it doesn’t take much to imagine Keith and Mick grabbing this for Out Of Our Heads or Aftermath. “You’re (Almost) Tuff” buries a little Bo Diddley under its strut and features a stinging guitar break followed by an unhinged scream as Head channels his torment over a difficult lover. By the end of Side 1 it’s clear that Roy Head was not holding back, and you can feel him going for it on every song.

The blue-eyed soul keeps coming on “Don’t Cry No More” which, with staccato trumpet, wailing sax, and pulsing snare propelling Head’s suave vocal and vamping, is right down the center of what Roy Head & the Traits did with soul. But I’m also very fond of what they did with blues, and their take on Willie Dixon’s “My Babe” is stellar. It sounds like there might be a little Beatles in the mix here, but being this close to the source it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation. That’s not the case with “Wigglin’ and Gigglin’,” which is more James Brown, this time crossed with a lyric straight from Chuck Berry.  

One thing that speaks to Head’s talent—and may well have hurt him in the marketplace—is the range of styles that he not only attempts but masters. For (further) example, “So Long My Love” has him moving confidently into the heartbroken crooner territory of Roy Orbison. “Pass The Day” is a somewhat lighter-weight slice of pop with doo-doo-doo backing vocals and galloping drums. “Teenage Letter” also begins as pop, but stretches into a tougher piece of work and, in fact, yet another thing that might’ve kept Roy Head from becoming a household name is that he always stayed on the raw side of things. In 2024, however, that means his music in no way sounds dated, and I would bet Lux Interior and Ivy Rorschach of The Cramps had more than a few of these singles in their legendary collection of vintage outré music. “Tush Hogg” ends the proceedings by giving Head a short breather, a stabbing guitar handling most of the emoting.

And then it’s all over, with none of these 15 songs reaching three minutes and only a couple crossing 2:30. My understanding is that Head would tone things down a bit as his career went on, finding a more relaxed soul/country path that he followed until his death in 2020 at 79.

As for the audio quality, the promo material says that the Back Beat master tapes were lost in a fire and, given the Geffen licensing, I have to wonder if this wasn’t the 2008 Universal Music Group blaze that destroyed 120,000-175,000 recordings. These songs had never been compiled on vinyl, so the versions here were mastered from the best digital copies that were available. They do sound punchy and warm and come in a colorful cover drawn by Jad Fair of Half Japanese. And, as I discovered, liner notes by Bill Bentley add important context for newcomers.

Whether you’re a newcomer like me or have been following Roy Head since he had to cancel an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show due to throat issues (another roadblock!), “Treat Her Right” will… yes, treat you right, too.

Rating: A-

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