Uptown Avondale by Afghan Whigs

Uptown Avondale, a 1992 EP from Cincinnati's Afghan Whigs, is where the band stopped hinting at its soul fixation and owned up to it. Wedged between Congregation and Gentlemen and issued on Sub Pop, it has Greg Dulli, guitarist Rick McCollum and bassist John Curley tearing into four soul-era standards: "Band of Gold", the Freda Payne hit; "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road", which both Elvis Presley and Percy Sledge cut; the Supremes' "Come See About Me"; and Al Green's "Beware". Dulli sings them like a man with plenty to confess and no intention of apologizing, and the guitars grind where the originals glided.

The prize is tucked away at the end: a remix of "Milez Is Ded", already a hidden track on Congregation, rebuilt over a looped drum track with the vocals and guitars smeared in effects. The band dubbed it "Rebirth of the Cool", a wink at Miles Davis and Birth of the Cool.

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