"Knock On Wood" was such a massive hit (a fact only reinforced by Amii Stewart's 1979 chart-topping mirror-ball remake), Eddie Floyd never stood much of a chance at escaping its shadow. Which is precisely why his'67 album, Knock On Wood, is such a revelation-a glimpse at what the man with the gritty, booming shout was capable of at the height of his powers. A batch of Stax-sturdy Memphis soul minus the fat that padded so many of the era's long-players, the album saw Floyd straight-up deal with standards of the day (J.J. Jackson's "But It's Alright," The Iceman's "I Stand Accused," Wilson Pickett's hit version of Floyd's own "634-5789") as if they were his own, while knocking out should've-been-classics (the raw Southern belter "Raise Your Hand," the simmering "I've Just Been Feeling Bad") like it wasn't any trouble at all. One listen to this album will make you wonderwhy you never bothered to dig deeper than its title-track hit.