Max Merritt (born Maxwell James Merritt in Christchurch, New Zealand on 30 April 1941)is a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who is renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R'n'B. As leader of Max Merritt & The Meteors his best known hits are "Slippin' Away", which reached #2 on the 1976 Australian singles charts, and "Hey, Western Union Man" which reached #13. Merritt rose to prominence in New Zealand from 1958 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in December 1964. Merritt was acknowledged as one of the best local performers of the 1960s and 1970s and his influence did much to popularise soul music / R'n'B and rock in New Zealand and Australia.
Merritt is a venerable pioneer of rock in Australasia who produced crowd pleasing shows for over 50 years. He has engendered respect and affection over generations of performers which was evident at the 2007 Concert for Max to provide financial support after it was announced he had Goodpasture's syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recognised Merritt's iconic status on 1 July 2008 when he was inducted into their Hall of Fame.
This is the definitive CD collection of the gravel-voiced soul king's recordings from his 1965 arrival in Australia through to his last single in 1982. An incredibly powerful collection of soul, R&B, funk, reggae and great rock – including ‘Fannie Mae’, ‘Shake’, ‘Western Union Man’, ‘Slipping Away’ and ‘Try A Little Tenderness’. During an era of wimpy teenyboppers, Max was the real thing - a mature rocker with musical integrity who imbued all his recordings with a great passion and sense of raw roots credibility.
1. FANNIE MAE
2. SHAKE
3. I CAN’T HELP MYSELF
4. I WANT SO MUCH TO KNOW YOU
5. RESPECT
6. LOUISIANA ANNA
7. GOOD FEELIN’
8. I’VE BEEN AWAY TOO LONG
9. HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
10. WESTERN UNION MAN
11. LIVE LEVIS
12. HELLO L.A., BYE BYE BIRMINGHAM
13. LET IT SLIDE
14. TO BE A LOVER
15. TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS
16. SLIPPING AWAY
17. A LITTLE EASIER
18. WHISPER IN MY EAR
19. MIDNIGHT MAN
20. AIN’T YOU GLAD YOU CAME?
21. A LOVER’S QUESTION
22. DIRTY WORK
23. PROVE IT
