To many R&B fans, Don Covay is better-remembered as a songwriter than as a vocalist, which isn't difficult to understand given the fact his tunes were covered by everyone from Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones and Steppenwolf. But this certainly shortchanges his skills as a frontman; if Covay wasn't a brilliant vocalist, he was a highly expressive one, and he was able to move from rough-and-ready soul shouters like "Take This Hurt off Me" to heartfelt ballads such as "A Woman's Love" without missing a step or losing a bit of his dynamic presence in the process (and he certainly knew how to make the most of his own songs, no small feat given the many interpretations of his biggest hits). Mercy Mercy: The Definitive Don Covay compiles 23 songs (nearly all of which Covay wrote or co-wrote as well as sang), which span his career from the early '60s (the frantic "Bip Bob Bip" and " "Pony Time," later a hit for Chubby Checker) to the mid-'70s (the hard-driving "No Tell Motel" from a 1976 session for Philadelphia International). Mercy Mercy: The Definitive Don Covay is a thorough career overview of an truly underappreciated artist, and certainly the best place to begin examining his recordings.