Spider Man (60th Anniversary)

Freddie McCoy’s 1966 session Spider Man has one of the all-time great covers, but the music more than holds its own. A cool jazz and soul jazz classic, it finds McCoy joined by Steve Davis on bass, Rudy Lawless on drums and Charlie Wilson on piano, locking into sharp, deep grooves throughout.

Standouts like Speak Out, Deagan! and Hav’ Mercy show just how good this band was, with Freddie McCoy’s vibraphone tone right at the centre. The back cover also claims Spider Man would be the first in a run of Marvel tie-in records, though this ended up being the only one.

That odd detail only adds to the appeal, especially as the original labels still used the title Hav’ Mercy. This 60th anniversary release is the first-ever vinyl reissue, cut all-analog.

A1. Hav' Mercy (3:10)
A2. Yesterdays (7:20)
A3. The Girl From Ipanema (4:35)
B1. Spider Man (3:20)
B2. That's All (7:25)
B3. Speak Out, Deagan! (4:10)