Stax 50th: 50th Anniversary Celebration
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Music CD Cover
Edition: Music CDFormat: Box set, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2007-03-13
Music Label: Stax
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- GEE WHIZ (LOOK AT HIS EYES) - Carla Thomas
- LAST NIGHT - The Mar-Keys
- YOU DON'T MISS YOUR WATER - William Bell
- GREEN ONIONS - Booker T. & The MGs
- WALKING THE DOG - Rufus Thomas
- I'VE BEEN LOVING YOU TOO LONG (TO STOP NOW) - Otis Redding
- CANDY - The Astors
- RESPECT - Otis Redding
- YOU DON'T KNOW LIKE I KNOW - Sam & Dave
- I WANT SOMEONE - The Mad Lads
- HOLD ON I'M COMIN' - Sam & Dave
- LET ME BE GOOD TO YOU - Carla Thomas
- YOUR GOOD THING (IS ABOUT TO END) - Mable John
- KNOCK ON WOOD - Eddie Floyd
- B-A-B-Y - Carla Thomas
- TRAMP - Otis & Carla
- SOUL FINGER - The Bar-Keys
- BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN - Albert King
- SOUL MAN - Sam & Dave
- (SITTIN' ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY - Otis Redding
- I GOT A SURE THING - Ollie & The Nightingales
- SOUL LIMBO - Booker T. & The MGs
- I'VE NEVER FOUND A GIRL (TO LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO) - Eddie Floyd
- WHAT A MAN - Linda Lyndell
- PRIVATE NUMBER - William Bell & Judy Clay
- WHO'S MAKING LOVE - Johnnie Taylor
- I FORGOT TO BE YOUR LOVER - William Bell
- I LIKE WHAT YOU'RE DOING (TO ME) - Carla Thomas
- TIME IS TIGHT - Booker T. & The MGs
- SO I CAN LOVE YOU - The Emotions
- WALK ON BY - Isaac Hayes
- DO THE FUNKY CHICKEN - Rufus Thomas
- JODY'S GOT YOUR GIRL AND GONE - Johnnie Taylor
- MR. BIG STUFF - Jean Knight
- NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - Isaac Hayes
- WHATCHA SEE IS WHATCHA GET - The Dramatics
- RESPECT YOURSELF - The Staple Singers
- THEME FROM SHAFT - Isaac Hayes
- SON OF SHAFT - The Bar-Kays
- THAT'S WHAT LOVE WILL MAKE YOU DO - Little Milton
- I'VE BEEN LONELY FOR SO LONG - Frederick Knight
- HEARSAY - Soul Children
- IN THE RAIN - The Dramatics
- I'LL TAKE YOU THERE - The Staple Singers
- STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN - Mel & Tim
- DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE - The Temprees
- IF YOU'RE READY (COME GO WITH ME) - The Staple Singers
- CHEAPER TO KEEP HER - Johnnie Taylor
- I'LL BE THE OTHER WOMAN - Soul Children
- WOMAN TO WOMAN - Shirley Brown
Free Music Notes for Stax 50th: 50th Anniversary Celebration
Free Music Review: Solid Gold Soul
Hit: 5 Stars
Concord Records, which acquired the Stax catalog with their purchase of Fantasy Records in 2004, kicks off a 50th anniversary reissue celebration with this double-disc set of the label's pioneering hits. While Motown's Berry Gordy made his label a nationwide institution with a broad commercial identity, the artists and producers at Stax initially carved out a more regionally identifiable sound. The gospel roots of the Memphis-based Stax were unmistakable, and the house bands (The Mar-Kays and the MGs) added a distinct, bluesy bite. Where Motown's music could feel manicured for radio, Stax forged a sound for the roadhouse. But it's exactly that live vitality that eventually made Stax such an iconic stand out.
Historian Rob Bowman calls out several elements that molded the classic Stax sound, but none more notable than the musician's pay scale. Outside of the South musicians were paid by the hour (or three-hour session), but in Memphis they were paid by the song. Where Motown had tight arrangements on paper before sessions began, Stax tasked its players to create and refine arrangements on the fly. Only when the band found a song's unique groove were the vocalists invited in, and then to often sing live. The arrangements included horn charts in place of background singers, emphasizing the vocalist without mixing them out front. Finally, the live vibe of these performances was carried to tape via the reverberant acoustics of Stax's legendary studio-in-a-former-movie theater. It all added up to a sound that was unique and instantly recognizable on record and on the radio.
Stax's defining period, from 1961 to 1968, is best remembered for the tight grooves of Booker T. & The MG's, the duets of Sam & Dave, and the standard-defining sides of Otis Redding. But as revered as were these hits, their commercial reach was surprisingly limited. By the late '60s Stax was expanding on their hard soul sound in an effort to break into northern urban markets. Most immediately noticeable were the addition of string arrangements to Ollie & The Nightingales' "I Got a Sure Thing" and Eddie Floyd's "I've Never Found a Girl." The latter's softer horns and call-and-response backing vocals marked additional shifts in the Stax sound. Stax expanded their recording beyond their Memphis studio, conducting sessions in Muscle Shoals and elsewhere. They still cut the occasional old-school hard-groove hit, such as Booker T's "Time is Tight" and Rufus Thomas' novelty "Do the Funky Chicken," but increasingly the label's commercial goals were broader, even expanding into purchased masters by Jean Knight ("Mr. Big Stuff") and Mel & Tim ("Starting All Over Again").
Isaac Hayes, who'd been a writing and session-playing staple at Stax broke out as a solo artist with his 1969 debut "Hot Buttered Soul." A pair of the album's lengthy tracks, covers of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Walk on By," were edited down to a double A-side, with the latter's superb slow-motion, fuzz-and-flute deconstruction of Bacharach & David featured here. But it was on the album chart where Hayes lived out Stax's vision, landing his debut on the pop, R&B, jazz and easy listening charts simultaneously. Additional Hayes hits followed, with "Theme From Shaft" crossing over to score Stax's second chart-topping pop hit (Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" was first and the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There" was the third and last).
Stax's continued to land singles on the charts until the label's demise in the mid-70s, with Shirley Brown's "Woman to Woman" standing as the final entry (and R&B #1) in 1974. Ironically, for all the label's financial troubles, the early '70s were a time of fruitful hit-making (including a trio of top singles by The Staple Singers), but apparently not business success. Concord is set to revitalize the label's fortunes with both new releases and a program of anniversary reissues. This opening salvo is a two-CD set enclosed in a fold-open box with a clever piece of flicker art depicting Stax's trademark snapping fingers logo. Inside are inset CD trays and a 50-page booklet with superb color photos (albeit in CD-booklet scale), an essay by Rob Bowman (adapted from his essay for the earlier 4-CD "The Stax Story"), and release and chart info.
This is a good place to start one's exploration of the Stax sound, and a valuable guide to the upcoming expanded album reissues. The two CDs include a generous helping of the label's best-known sides and many R&B hits that will be new to '60s pop fans. Those who can't wait for the reissues can find more on the previously issued 4-CD "The Stax Story," or dive headlong into the massive early-90s box sets "The Complete Stax-Volt Singles" volumes 1-3. For all but the most ardent Stax fans the latter sets are overkill, and this collection (and the upcoming LP reissues) is a great entry point. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]
Stax 50th: 50th Anniversary Celebration Poster
FIRST TIME EVER! 50 GREATEST STAX HITS IN A SPECIAL 2CD BOXED SET. Set includes chart toppers by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Booker T & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, The Staples Singers, Johnnie Taylor, and more*Packaged in a UNIQUE HARD COVER BOX with LENTICULAR COVER ART *EVERY MAJOR STAX AND STAX-ATLANTIC HIT from the label's 1960s and 70s heyday. *THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE STAX HITS COLLECTION EVER! *Release coincides with the 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAX *DIGITALLY REMASTERED *Features a MULTI-PAGE BOOKLET with notes from "Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax" by noted soul music historian Rob Bowman
When Concord Music purchased Fantasy Records in 2006, the bulging Stax catalog came along for the ride. Not a bad deal, especially since Stax remains one of the richest and most vital sources of '60s and '70s soul, blues, and R&B. The newly reactivated label's debut release is a lavishly boxed double-disc set of 50 highlights--as opposed to hits--from the Memphis label's voluminous vaults to celebrate its 50th anniversary. All the usual suspects appear, including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, and the Staple Singers. But the compilers deliver a well-rounded, even eclectic collection by including tracks from such relatively obscure acts as the Astors, Ollie & the Nightingales, the Mad Lads, Linda Lyndell, and Mable John, whose "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" is one of the great lost soul treasures. Propelled in large part by house band Booker T. & the MGs, the majority of these songs have become integral threads in the fabric of American soul. Even at two and a half hours, there's not a dull moment here. That is a testament not just to the Stax musicians, but to a label whose artists defined a classic sound that remains as timeless, relevant, influential, and electrifying as when it was recorded. --Hal Horowitz
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