Scott Morgan has been an important part of the Ann Arbor/Detroit music scene for decades. He fronted the legendary Rationals, Scots Pirates and Powertrane; he was also part of Sonic's Rendezvous Band.

The cover of "Scott Morgan"; photo by Doug Coombe

Although Morgan is most often considered a rock performer, he's always known something about soul: The Rationals' breakout hit was a cover of Otis Redding's "Respect," recorded a full year before Aretha Franklin's definitive take. And this week, Morgan's soul side comes into its own with the release of a new album, simply titled "Scott Morgan."

Although it definitely has a rock feel as well, the album finds Morgan dipping into the classic soul songbook for several terrific covers: the Motown classics "Something About You" (the Four Tops) and "Since I Lost My Baby" (the Temptations); "She's Not Just Another Woman," a cult favorite from the Detroit soul collective 8th Day; Nina Simone's "Do I Move You"; and Sam Cooke's "Bring it on Home to Me," plus Bobbie Gentry's "Mississippi Delta." Those are accompanied by five originals that sound just great sitting alongside the classics. Listen to Scott Morgan "She's Not Just Another Woman" (MP3).

Playing with Morgan on the album are Matthew Smith, guitar and piano; Chris ("Box") Taylor, guitar; Jim Diamond, bass; and Dave Shettler, drums and percussion. It was recorded at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit and is being released by Alive Records.

The album gets its official release Tuesday, and Morgan said he expects local stores to stock it. It's also available from the label and from Amazon.com — on vinyl as well as CD.

Morgan agreed to answer some questions about the new venture via email.

Q: How long has it been since your last album? Did anything in particular motivate you for this project? A: The most recent release is the Rationals on Ace. Before that, Sonic's Rendezvous Band on Easy Action. Before that, "The Solution" on Wild Kingdom. I want to concentrate on soul now, and my bandmates made it easy.

Q: After a long career in a variety of bands, this album is called simply “Scott Morgan.” Any significance to that? Is this an especially personal record? A: That was Alive Records' idea. We first called it "The Irrationals" as a working title. I let Alive call those shots. We just deliver the masters.

Q: The album is split about evenly between your own songs and covers. Are you more or less working on new songs all the time, or is it more a matter of since you have an album in the works, you need to sit down and write? A: I write when I get inspiration. The rest is covers. I had a bunch of lyrics, and the band came up with the rest. We worked pretty fast.

Q: The choices for covers are great — three Detroit soul classics, Nina Simone, Sam Cooke — Out of the wealth of material out there, how do you narrow down what you want to record? A: I came up with a lot of suggestions and let the band cherry pick from that. There were plenty left over, so maybe (there will be a) number two. We were experimenting with the "Live at the Harlem Square (Club)" version of "Bring it on Home." We also recorded Sam & Dave's version of "Soothe Me" and Nolan Strong's "The Wind." The vault of Motown songs is endless. I always wanted to do Nina's song and Bobbie's song. They are so down home, I feel like I wrote them. 8th Day was the kind of song I like to cover. Total obscurity.

Q: The band you’re playing with on the album sounds great. Have you been playing together for a while? A: Yes, about six months. They are such a pleasure to work with and we get things done quickly. Willy Wilson is executive producer and Patrick Boisell is Alive's exec. Jim (Diamond) is engineer as well as producer and Ghetto Recorders' owner. Matt made the connection with Alive. Dave and I sang duets. They all have producer credits. Me and Box made up the Ann Arbor connection and Eddie Baranek did the final session with us. Everyone played instruments but me. I just sang and played a bit of organ. Q: Looking back on your career, what was has been the most enjoyable time for you? When do you think you were making the best music? A: Every day.

Q: Does the new album mean you’ll be doing a lot of live shows in the coming months? Anything in particular planned locally? A: Yes, the Magic Bag (July 9) with Jimmy McCarty and Johnny B's band. After that we may hit the road. We're exploring the chance to go to Europe and touring the States.

Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.