"Soulsville U.S.A. - A Celebration of Stax" by VARIOUS ARTISTS - Featuring The Veltones, Carla Thomas, The Mar-Keys, William Bell, Booker T & The MG's, Rufus Thomas, Wendy Rene, Otis Redding, The Astors, Sam & Dave, The Mad Lads, Mabel John, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, Ollie & The Nightingales, Linda Lyndell, Judy Clay, The Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, The Emotions, Isaac Hayes, Jean Knight, The Dramatics, Little Milton, The Soul Children, Frederick Knight, Mel & Tim, The Temprees, Ollie & The Nightingales, Shirley Brown, Linda Lyndell and some duets (September 2017 UK/EU Craft Recordings/Universal/Stax 3CD 60-Track Compilation Spanning 1959 to 1974 with Joe Tarantino Remasters – Part of the 'Stax 60 Series: Celebrating 60-Years Of The Memphis Sound') - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soulsville-U-S-Celebration-Stax/dp/B073JSFCVR?crid=14RENQUZD934I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.i_gcTdCDGyJg0DHTGaiszBWIjREEWhpzvjdg74dDa8c.ehZCsYMT2DXJfTqyx5MxXEAEvk2L-0WPpk-BI99Lc8o&dib_tag=se&keywords=888072029392&qid=1720457995&sprefix=888072029392%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=5b220c8bdef7ee62ba95adc5ad7d368c&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"...I Got A Sure Thing..."

In 2024 the world will look at another Stax Records CD Compilation like its unnecessary. Musical nostalgia trips aside – it was nice and even cool back in the day but do I really need the return of Woolworths to my High Street right now? 

Well, my beloved Wimpy are gone too, but that doesn't mean I still don't crave me a delicious all-singing calories-be-damned Banana Boat dessert!

There are so many Large and Small Box Sets, Multi-Disc Compilations, 2CD Anthologies and Single-Disc Best Of's to choose from when it comes to nabbing a Stax Music one-stop - it's frankly dizzying. So why this digital threesome in the Stax 60 Series – Celebrating 60 Years Of The Memphis Sound – because it's a Craft Recordings release. Originally out of the USA in 2017 and also given a EU/UK release that year - this satisfying 3CD-overview has some of the loveliest and clearest Remasters of this Classic Soul label to date.

I have a thing for Craft Recordings - they have also done John Lee Hooker, Authentic Cuban Music from the Sixties, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Terry Callier's beautiful Folk-Soul debut album on Prestige Records in 1968 and even Travis at Glastonbury. And I've loved (reviewed most too) their many celebratory releases on all things Stax-related with stunning Box/Book Sets on Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Stax '68: A Memphis Story (a pivotal year for Soul and Politics), Stax Singles 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest, the rare 45s of The Gospel Truth Label, Writer Demos and loads more – many on celebrated well-mastered VINYL outings too that audiophiles have been waking up to across this last decade.

"Soulsville U.S.A. - A Celebration of Stax" comes housed in a four-flaps foldout Digipak with a 20-page colour booklet inside – 60-Tracks offering up US 45s on Satellite, Stax, Volt, We Produce, Enterprise and Truth Records from The Veltones in September 1959 through to Shirley Brown in August 1974. It includes all their major US Billboard chart-toppers and more - legendary Soul names like Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Sam & Dave, Booker T & The MG's, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Isaac Hayes, Shirley Brown, The Mad Lads, The Staple Singers, Frederick Knight et al. Time to Tramp – to the details…

UK/EU released 22 September 2017 - "Soulsville U.S.A. - A Celebration of Stax" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Craft Recordings/Universal/Stax 0888072029392 (Barcode 888072029392) is a 3CD 60-Track Compilation of Remasters spanning The Veltones from September 1959 to Shirley Brown in August 1974. All tracks are US 45-single A-sides (unless otherwise stated) and the order of information is; release date, catalogue number, and highest attained number positions on the USA Billboard R&B and Pop charts. It plays out as follows:

CD1 (55:23 minutes):
1. Fool In Love – THE VELTONES (September 1959, Satellite 100)
2. Gee Whizz – CARLA THOMAS (November 1960, Satellite 104, R&B No.5, Pop No.10)
3. Last Night – THE MAR-KEYS (June 1961, Satellite 107/Stax 107, R&B No.2, Pop No.3)
4. You Don't Miss Your Water – WILLIAM BELL (November 1961, Stax 116, Pop No.95)
5. Green Onions – BOOKER T. & THE MG'S (August 1962, Stax 127/Volt 102, R&B No.1, Pop No.3)
6. Walking The Dog – RUFUS THOMAS (September 1963, Stax 140, R&B No.5, Pop No.10)
7. After Laughter – WENDY RENE (August 1964, Stax 154)
8. I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) – OTIS REDDING (April 1965, Volt 126, R&B No.2, Pop No.21)
9. Candy – THE ASTORS (May 1965, Stax 170, R&B No.12, Pop No.63)
10. You Don't Know Like I Know – SAM & DAVE (November 1965, Stax 160, R&B No.7, Pop 90)
11. Don't Have To Shop Around – THE MAD LADS (July 1965, Volt 127, R&B No.11, Pop No.93)
12. Let Me Be Good To You – CARLA THOMAS (March 1966, Stax 188, R&B No. 11, Pop No.62)
13. Your Good Thing (Is About To End) – MABLE JOHN (May 1966, Stax 192, R&B No.6, Pop No.95)
14. Knock On Wood – EDDIE FLOYD (July 1966, Stax 194, R&B No.1, Pop No.28)
15. Hold On! I'm Comin' – SAM & DAVE (March 1966, Stax 189, R&B No.1, Pop No.21)
16. Try A Little Tenderness – OTIS REDDING (November 1966, Volt 141, R&B No.4, Pop No.25)
17. B-A-B-Y – CARLA THOMAS (July 1966, Stax 195, R&B No.3, Pop No.14)
18. Hip Hug-Her – BOOKER T & THE MG'S (February 1967, Stax 211, R&B No.6, Pop No.37)
19. Soul Finger – THE BAR-KAYS (April 1967, Volt 148, R&B No. 3, Pop No.17)
20. Tramp – OTIS & CARLA [Otis Redding and Carla Thomas] (April 1967, Stax 216, R&B No.2, Pop No.26)

CD2 (60:16 minutes):
1. Born Under A Bad Sign – ALBERT KING (May 1967, Stax 217, R&B No.49)
2. Soul Man – SAM & DAVE (August 1967, Stax 231, R&B No.1, Pop No.1)
3. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay – OTIS REDDING (January 1968, Volt 157, R&B No.1, Pop No.1)
4. Big Bird – EDDIE FLOYD (February 1968, Stax 246)
5. I Got A Sure Thing – OLLIE & THE NIGHTINGALES (February 1968, Stax 245, R&B No.16, Pop No.73)
6. Soul Limbo – BOOKER T. & THE MG'S (May 1968, Stax 0001, R&B No. 7, Pop No.17)
7. What A Man – LINDA LYNDELL (June 1968, Volt 4001, R&B No. 50)
8. Private Number – JUDY CLAY & WILLIAM BELL (July 1968, Stax 0005, R&B No. 17, Pop No.75)
9. I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) – EDDIE FLOYD (May 1968, Stax 0002, R&B No.2, Pop No.40)
10. The Weight – THE STAPLE SINGERS (from the LP "Soul Folk In Action" released January 1969 in the USA on Stax STS 2004 and May 1969 UK on Stax SXATS 1004 in Stereo -a Cover Version of The Band song)
11. Who's Making Love – JOHNNIE TAYLOR (September 1968, Stax 0009, R&B No.1, Pop No.5)
12. I Like What You're Doing (To Me) – CARLA THOMAS (January 1969, Stax 0024, R&B No.9, Pop No.49)
13. I Forgot To Be Your Lover – WILLIAM BELL (November 1968, Stax 0015, R&B No.10, Pop No.45)
14. Time Is Tight – BOOKER T & THE MG'S (February 1969, Stax 0028, R&B No.7, Pop No.6)
15. Do The Funky Chicken – RUFUS THOMAS (November 1969, Stax 0059, R&B No.5, Pop No.28)
16. So I Can Love You – THE EMOTIONS (March 1969, Volt 4010, R&B No.3, Pop No.39)
17. Walk On By – ISAAC HAYES (July 1969, Enterprise 9003, R&B No.13, Pop No.30)
18. Keep On Loving Me – JOHNNIE TAYLOR & CARLA THOMAS (June 1969, Stax 0042, R&B No.4, Pop No.36)
19. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom) – THE STAPLE SINGERS (November 1970, Stax 0083, R&B No.6, Pop No.27)
20. (Do The) Push And Pull (Part 1) – RUFUS THOMAS (October 1970, Stax 0079, R&B No.1, Pop No.25)

CD3 (69:13 minutes):
1. Mr. Big Stuff – JEAN KNIGHT (March 1971, Stax 0088, R&B No.1, Pop No.2)
2. Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone – JOHNNIE TAYLOR (December 1970, Stax 0085, R&B No.1, Pop No.28)
3. Never Can Say Goodbye – ISAAC HAYES (April 1971, Enterprise 9031, R&B No.5, Pop No.22)
4. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get – THE DRAMATICS (May 1971, Volt 4058, R&B 3, Pop No.9)
5. Respect Yourself – THE STAPLE SINGERS (September 1971, Stax 0104, R&B No.2, Pop No.12)
6. Theme From Shaft – ISAAC HAYES (September 1971, Enterprise 9038, R&B No.2, Pop No.1)
7. Son Of Shaft – THE BAR-KAYS (November 1971, Volt 4073, R&B No.10, Pop No.53)
8. That's What Love Will Make You Do – LITTLE MILTON (December 1971, Stax 0111, R&B No.9, Pop No.59)
9. Hearsay – THE SOUL CHILDREN (February 1972, Stax 0119, R&B No.5, Pop No. 44)
10. In The Rain – THE DRAMATICS (February 1972, Volt 4075, R&B No.1, Pop No.5)
11. Do Your Thing – ISAAC HAYES (January 1972, Enterprise 9042, R&B No.3, Pop No.30)
12. I've Been Lonely For So Long – FREDERICK KNIGHT (February 1972, Stax 0117, R&B No.8, Pop No.27)
13. I'll Take You There – THE STAPLE SINGERS (March 1972, Stax 0125, R&B No.1, Pop No.1)
14. Starting All Over Again – MEL & TIM (May 1972, Stax 0127, R&B No.4, Pop No. 19)
15. Dedicated To The One I Love – THE TEMPREES ((July 1972, We Produce 1808, R&B No.17, Pop No.93)
16. Hey You! Get Off My Mountain – THE DRAMATICS (February 1973, Volt 4090, R&B No.5, Pop No.43)
17. Cheaper To Keep Her – JOHNNIE TAYLOR (September 1973, Stax 0176, R&B No.2, Pop No.15)
18. If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) – THE STAPLE SINGERS (September 1973, Stax 0179, R&B No.1, Pop No.9)
19. I'll Be The Other Woman – THE SOUL CHILDREN (November 1973, Stax 0182, R&B No.3, Pop No.36)
20. Woman To Woman – SHIRLEY BROWN (August 1974, Truth 3206, R&B No.1, Pop No.22)

Formed by ex-Banker JIM STEWART and his record-shop owning sister Estelle Axton (the ST and AX in STAX) – their McLemore Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, USA was an oasis for artists of ANY colour – something highly unusual in the deeply race-riven South of the Fifties and Sixties. 

When you think that out of nearly 800 45-single releases across their fifteen-year tenure (and 300 albums) – Stax Records and their subsidiaries (Satellite, Volt, We Produce, Enterprise and Truth) placed 243 on the Top 100 R&B charts and 167 on the Billboard Pop charts too – picking 60 was always going to be a compromise of sorts and have omissions punters wanted. And you can see the playing times on CD1 and CD2 are a tad shorter than one would like – but "Soulsville U.S.A. - A Celebration of Stax" still makes for the most magnificent and pleasing play. 

You get 13 R&B number ones, 1 Pop No.1 (unbelievably, the mighty "Theme From Shaft" only hit No. 2 R&B but went all the way to No.1 on the Pop charts) and countless top-slot near misses at No.2 and No.3 slots. NYC songwriter and regular contributor to Esquire Magazine JEFF SLATE does the liner-notes honours - his STAX RECORDS overview peppered by quality four-photo pages of Stax's main roster including lesser-seen names like Ollie & The Nightingales and even The Stax/Volt European Tour of 1967 entourage. There is then song-by-song credits which I've transcribed above. 

Each CD features major chart hits with just four deep dives – the non-charting but popular 45 fan-choices by The Veltones, Wendy Rene and Eddie Floyd while The Staples Singers get one album track (CD1 and CD2). And the JOE TARANTINO Mastering is gorgeous and clean throughout. The sound quality on The Temprees for instance doing their cover version of the Shirelles 60ts classic "Dedicated To The One I Love" – soaring vocals and strings – clarity and underlying power – so sweet. The same applies to the lesser-celebrated Vocal Group gymnastics of The Dramatics demanding peace and loving in their fab "Hey You! Get Off My Mountain". 

The huge hits like Booker T's "Green Onions", Eddie Floyd's "Knock On Wood", Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" and posthumous number 1 "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", Sam & Dave's Blues brothers staples "Hold On! I'm Comin'" and "Soul Man", Isaac Hayes' Blaxploitation Movie anthem "Theme From Shaft", Jean Knight's in-yer-face take-no-crap sassy "Mr Big Stuff" and the whole-world falls in love positivity of Mavis Staples fronting The Staple Singers in their gorgeous "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" are all accounted for. But it's the intermittent stops on the bus to Coolsville that grabs you by the short and talcums - the semi-instrumental head-jerkin' joy of "Last Night" by The Mar-Keys, the sexy domestic squabbling made to sound Soulful in Mabel John's fab "Your Good Thing (Is About To End)" and washing-clothes in a local laundrette shimmy of "What A Man" by Linda Lyndell as she crisp-flicks her latest beau's duds. 

Blues-Soul Boss shows up in the shape Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign" (a tune so many Rock bands adored) and the real-world knowing alimony wit of Johnnie Taylor's "It's Cheaper To Keep Her". The ladies get advisory and a tad mean with Shirley Brown's "Woman To Woman" while The Soul Children's "Hearsay" takes no lyrical prisoners either. Even after all these decades, you forget how good the Isaac Hayes Soul's Burt Bacharach vibe is on his "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Walk On By" reworks - and there's the "Son Of Shaft" follow-up by The Bar-Kays - a Funk gem ripe for playlist rediscovery. For sure I might never want to hear the 'Country' in Otis & Carla's "Tramp" ever again, but I can't get sick of "I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)" or the early Stax Soul groove inherent in The Mad Lads doing "You Don't Have To Shop Around". 

I could go on about "Soulsville U.S.A - A Celebration of STAX" but I'll leave the 60-track rediscoveries to you. I got my copy from an online retailer for a bargain-bin sealed price of under eight quid, but this three-fer can set you back over fourteen pounds and upwards to thirty because its Craft Recordings - so go Smokey Robinson and The Miracles on its tasty ass - and shop around.

Great choices, tasty packaging and above all that quality audio you crave - bit of a belter frankly... 

"The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Thirty-Four Tracks from January 1972 to October 1974 – Seventeen US 45-Single-Sides (A&B) on the Stax-Related 'The Gospel Truth' Records Label – Featuring The Rance Allen Group, Terry Lynne Community Choir, Reverend Maceo Woods, Reverend Marvin Yancy, The 21st Century, Jacqui Verdell, Blue Aquarius, Jimmy Jones, Charles May and Annette May Thomas, Louise McCord, Joshie Jo Armstead and more (September 2020 US Craft Recordings/Stax 2CD 34-Track Compilation in a Three-Panel Gatefold Card Sleeve with Joe Tarantino Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gospel-Truth-Complete-Singles-Collection/dp/B08FSMSH65?crid=MVYUV1Y1WO53&keywords=888072180468&qid=1707824396&sprefix=888072180468%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=4d032fd3e077e63692ac82ddfce7a60b&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

This Review Along With 334 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, R 'n' B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95 (2024 Update)

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"…Just My Salvation…Running Inside Of Me…"

Although Stax was most closely associated with R&B, Soul and Funk for the Sixties and Seventies – between January 1972 and October 1974 when Stax was still a viable Record Company before their ignominious liquidation and closure in 1975 – they got behind the Lord.

Fans will know that smidgens of the American label The Gospel Truth have turned up on the Stax Singles Mega Boxes – particularly Volume 3 and 4 (I have reviewed all four separately). August 2010 also saw Ace Records of the UK via their Beat Goes Public label imprint offer up a CD compilation called "The Gospel Truth: The Gospel And Funk Of Stax Records" (see my separate review for Ace/Beat Goes Public CDBGP 222 - Barcode 029667522229 - and pictures below). But that 20-track compilation concentrated primarily on the album output of the label and leaned (as it said in the title) towards the Funk and Soul of the label. 

This double has some Funk and Soul but is primarily about secular themes and is the first time their Entire Singles output has been put into one place. Remastered from original tapes and presented to an unwitting world with genuine class – seventeen US 45s and their (mostly) Non-LP B-sides - thirty-four sides in total. These single-sides are rare, and on digital have received scant attention until now

I have found that everything Craft Recordings does regarding reissued-Stax and the label's astonishing legacy, is invariably a classy affair. And this wee twofer from September 2020 is no different. Craft even issued a 3LP version 8 January 2021 in the US on Craft Recordings CR00331 (Barcode 888072180383) – a beautiful piece of kit and if it sounds anywhere as good as this does – then turntable Nirvana is not far away. But back to the 2CD variant – and how the angels won the day…

US released 17 September 2020 – "The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Craft Recordings/Stax CR00332 (Barcode 888072180468) is a 2CD 34-Track Compilation of Remasters covering US-only 45-Single releases between January 1972 and October 1974 that plays out as follows: 

CD1 (64:02 minutes):
1. Just My Imagination (Just My Salvation) – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
2. Up Above My Head – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
3. His Love Will Always Be – TERRY LYNNE COMMUNITY CHOIR
4. Consider Me – TERRY LYNNE COMMUNITY CHOIR
5. Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You (Don't Let The Devil Fool You) – REVEREND W. BERNARD AVANT, Jr., & THE St. JAMES GOSPEL CHOIR
6. God Is What You Let Him Be - REVEREND W. BERNARD AVANT, Jr., & THE St. JAMES GOSPEL CHOIR
7. There's Gonna Be A Showdown – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
8. That Will Be Good Enough For Me – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
9. The Magnificent Sanctuary Band (Marching For The Man) – REVEREND MACEO WOODS & THE CHRISTIAN TABERNACLE CONCERT CHOIR
10. Jesus Is Waiting - REVEREND MACEO WOODS & THE CHRISTIAN TABERNACLE CONCERT CHOIR
11. Keep My Baby Warm – CHARLES MAY & ANNETTE MAY THOMAS
12. Satisfied – CHARLES MAY & ANNETTE MAY THOMAS
13. Ride Out The Storm – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
14. I Got The Vibes – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
15. I Got To Be Myself – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
16. Gonna Make It Alright – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
17. Who's Supposed To Be Raising Who – THE 21ST CENTURY
18. All I Can Do – THE 21st CENTURY
NOTES ON CD1 (All Entries Below are US 45-Singles):
Tracks 1&2 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1201, January 1972 – a Gospel Cover of The Temptations Motown hit with words changed
Tracks 3&4 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1202, February 1972
Tracks 5&6 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1203, May 1972
Tracks 7&8 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1204, June 1972
Tracks 9&10 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1205, March 1972
Tracks 11&12 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1206, January 1973
Tracks 13&14 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1207, March 1973
Tracks 15&16 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1208, March 1973
Tracks 17&18 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1209, April 1973

CD2 (57:30 minutes):
1. I'm A Child Of The King – THE PEOPLE’S CHOIR OF OPERATION PUSH Under The Direction Of REVEREND MARTIN YANCY
2. He Included Me – as per Track 1
3. He's Mine – JACQUI VERDELL
4. We're Gonna Have A Good Time – JACQUI VERDELL
5. I Know A Man Who – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
6. Hot Line To Jesus – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
7. At The Feet Of The Master – BLUE AQUARIUS
8. Know Him While You Can – BLUE AQUARIUS
9. Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones (What Took Me So Long) – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
10. Give A Little Loving – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
11. Do It Yourself – JIMMY JONES
12. If I Had A Hammer – JIMMY JONES
13. Be True – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
14. We're The Salt Of The Earth – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
15. Reflections – LOUISE McCORD
16. There's No Need To Cry – LOUISE McCORD
NOTES ON CD2:
Tracks 1&2 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1210, September 1973
Tracks 3&4 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1211, August 1973
Tracks 5&6 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1212, September 1973
Tracks 7&8 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1213, November 1973
Tracks 9&10 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1214, April 1974
Tracks 11&12 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1215, March 1974
Tracks 13&14 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1216, May 1974
Tracks 15&16 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1217, October 1974

The 16-page CD-sized Booklet may feel a tad scant once out of its card-flap, but all the key players are featured in the newly penned JARED BOYD liner notes – fresh interviews from STAX Records chief executive AL BELL, their mainman gospel artist RANCE ALLEN and MARY PEAK (aka Mary Peak Patterson) – one-time assistant to the legendary DAVE CLARK - both of whom helped establish the label under the auspices of the STAX umbrella. From Jackson in Tennessee and in the music game since the 1930s, Dave Clark was called on by Bell to instigate the label. Clark recalled a story in a 1972 interview about being run out of Mississippi with his Aristocrat Records black music station vinyl piles burned on the side of the road by the State Police. How Clark found it in his heart to forgive those white racist scumbags must be literally down to the Lord and a wellspring of forgiveness I would not have. Peak and Bell also made sure that artists on the Gospel Truth label were treated like mainstream stars when they went touring – great cloths – decent accommodation and venues where they were appreciated. It is a fascinating read on a lesser-told side to Stax.

But you will be even more impressed by the Glorious Audio – JOE TARANTINO having done the Transfers and Remasters – a name associated with the other huge Stax Box Sets. I don't know how these Craft Recordings sets have such illuminating audio over previous stabs at Stax – but they do. Listening to the vocal pyrotechnics of Rance Allen on the debut-45 (Tracks 1 and 2 on CD1) and you are hit with gorgeous clarity – and just enough oomph to make you feel the choir lifting of with the spirit.

The Music: Northern Soul Dancers and Mod-moment chasers should know that "The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" absolutely ain't loaded with 70ts Soul as we know it and only very occasionally gets Funky Righteous. But when it does – the results are (dare we say it) devilishly sexy. The Rance Allen Group takes on The Staples Singers "I Got To Be Myself" (Track 15) where the shouter gets all Sly & The Family Stone on the personal positivity vibe (he soon returns to Jesus on the equally good flipside). There are songs like "Keep My Baby Warm" by Charles May and Annette May Thomas on CD1 that have as lovely a Soul vibe as you've ever heard and does so without mentioning the man in the sky even once (their very Staples Singers flipside "Satisfied" is secular too but in a saved-my-soul Funky way). 

I can hear why the Ace CD featured The 21st Century – their fantastically Funky "Who's Supposed To Be Raising Who" towards the end of CD1 gets ants-in-its-pants about the generation gap – they need leadership and strenght - who is the child and who is the adult. The same social consciousness permates "If The Shoe Fits, Wear It" – the B-side which Ace did include on their CD in 2010. It ends CD1 of this twofer on a high and with cracking audio too. 

As I said before, in the main, the music is full-on Gospel-abandonment Good-Word-Spreading marching for the man type tunes (Jesus gets a lot of favourable mentions and there maybe occasional clapping). And that dominates CD2. It opens with a joyous palm-in-his-hand "I'm A Child Of The King" where Reverend Marvin Yancy lends his deeply rich and Soulful lead vocals to a huge choir – lovely and hopeful in tandem. As singular piano notes and a lone church organ sets the scene for the flipside "He Included Me" – Lead Vocalist Loretta Oliver and the Choir may just reduce your heathen heart to tears (a gorgeous find). Lush strings lead in Jacqui Verdell as she caresses "He's Mine" where she sanctifies how much she depends on the big guy – it’s a slow almost Stylistics groove and it's another lovely discovery. She decides to go Funky Piano on the B-side "We're Gonna Have A Good Time" – but her words are not about partying but the colours all getting together and digging the scene. 

Rance Alley goes soppy too for the Lord on his own "I Know A Man Who" advising us that He will let you leave your troubles behind (a more restrained vocal, but what a voice nonetheless). Funksters will dig the Mack Rice flipside with its clavinet keyboard chug – Rance calls on the man in "Hot Line To Jesus" then goes Halleujah (Good God!). Blue Aquarius decide to step right out of the Stax/Gospel Truth sound altogether and get ever so slightly Duncan Browne-Nick Drake-Al Stewart Spanish Guitar acoustic with their "At The Feet Of The Master". It's a Pop Love-Song to Jesus of 4:22 minutes length that feels very Folk UK in ways – halfway through it goes all Hair in its chorus about 'we're all love'. Unfortunately, its ooh-bop-bop-bop B-side is terrible sub-Fifth Dimension meets Sixties Neil Diamond and not in a good way. Better, deeply emotive and believing every note, Joshie Jo Armstead brings her fabulous set of pipes to a tale of coming out of cotton fields and finding that her stumbling blocks had become stepping stones to a higher way. She penned the flipside and sounding like a more mature Tammi Terrell doing a Jimmy Webb song - "Give A Little Loving" has Joshie Jo let rip on the kindness message. 

The astonishingly rich and canyon-deep Lou Rawls meets Fred Neil voice of Jimmy Jones wows in his time-for-action plea song "Do It Yourself". Mentions of inflation and politicians ignoring poverty sets the 1974 city scene (he does the Pete Seeger/Lee Hays anthem "If I Had A Hammer" on the flipside in a funky style but it feels hammy compared to the A). The set smooches home with Rance Allen and Louise McCord. Ace showed the Louise McCord US album "A Tribute To Mahalia Jackson" on the last page of their "The Gospel Truth: The Gospel Soul and Funk of Stax Records" CD booklet in 2010. Electric Organs and Sunday-Morning references fill her lovely "Reflections" (no giving up - keep on keeping on) coming into the back-stretch with her backing singers testifying on "There's No Need To Cry". God will heal your problems – McCord's rich voice filled with conviction as the love-ballad floats out of your speakers clear as a bell. 

For sure, much of what is on "The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" will only be for a limited audience, but for STAX nuts like me and others even remotely interested in Soul, Funk and the occasional Righteous Groove that sometimes sidled up to those Genres – then this US 2020 2CD set on the wonderful Craft Recordings reissue label is a must own and a nice discovery all in one. 

Praise the Lord and ain't that the Truth, Gospel or otherwise…

"Taylored In Silk" by JOHNNIE TAYLOR – US Album from June 1973 on Stax Records (July 1975 in the UK) Plus Bonus Tracks (May 2011 UK Concord Music Group Inc/Universal/Stax 'Stax Remasters' Expanded Edition CD Reissue with Six Bonus Tracks - Joe Tarantino Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
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"…I've Got Someone I Can Call My Very Own…"

Now here comes a Stax-Soulful goody – released Stateside first (delayed all the way until 1975 in the UK) – the original American vinyl LP hit the US R&B charts in early July 1973 and quickly proved a winner, eventually settling at No. 3 on the LP charts (back in the days when albums shifted genuinely huge numbers). 

It was held in affection then and remains so to this day. Hardly surprising then that the Taylor in Silk was due a digital dust off and the new custodians of the Stax Records legacy (Concord Music Group of the USA) have done a nice job on this CD reminding us of its lurve charms (the 8-track album is augmented with a generous Six Bonus Tracks - the A&B-sides of three stand-alone US Stax 45s). Here are the velveteen details...

Released Monday 16 May 2011 in the UK - "Taylored In Silk" by JOHNNIE TAYLOR on Concord Music Group, Inc/Stax 0888072328754 (Barcode 0888072328754) is part of the 2011/2012 'Stax Remasters' Series and breaks down as follows (55:58 minutes):

1. We're Getting Careless With Our Love [Side 1]

2. Starting All Over Again

3. Cheaper To Keep Her

4. Talk To Me

5. I Believe In You (You Believe In Me) [Side 2]

6. One Thing Wrong With My Baby

7. I Can Read Between The Lines

8. This Bitter Earth

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "Taylored In Silk" by JOHNNIE TAYLOR – released June 1973 in the USA on Stax Records STS-3014 and July 1975 in the UK on Stax Records STX 1012

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Hijackin' Love

10. Love In The Streets (Ain't Good As The Love At Home) – Tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B-sides of an August 1971 US 45 on Stax STA-0096 (no UK issue)

11. Standing In For Jody

12. Shackin' Up – Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of a January 1972 US 45 on Stax STA-0114 and May 1972 UK on Stax 2025 083

13. Doing My Own Thing (Part 1)

14. Doing My Own Thing (Part 2) – Tracks 13 and 14 are the A&B-sides of an April 1972  US 45 on Stax STA-0122 (no UK issue)

The new 12-page booklet has very knowledgeable and affectionate liner notes by BILL DAHL who did the exceptional liner notes on Bear Family’s 1961-1970 "Sweet Soul Music" CDs (10 volumes) and their 1945-1960 "Blowing The Fuse" series on R'n'B music (16 volumes). I’ve reviewed nearly all of them. You also get the original artwork on the front and rear of the booklet, musician and session details etc. But it's a shame the booklet doesn’t go any further. There’s no new photos, no memorabilia - and it makes the inlay feel workmanlike at best – even a little dull – when it should have spread its wings a little. But the big news is the SOUND…

I've reviewed the other titles in this new 'Stax Remasters' Series (see list below) and duly raved about the fabulous sound quality on all – especially after years of lacklustre reissues in jewel cases and repro digipaks. Well this is the same. 24-bit remastered from the first generation tapes at JOE TARANTINO Mastering in Berkeley, California – the audio quality is fantastic – which of course makes you reassess every song – and here it gives incredible clarity to these hugely underrated slices of Seventies Soul.

The whole album is good and very much in a smoochy mode – songs about lovin' and cheatin' and not getting' caught cheatin' etc. "I Believe In You (You Believe In Me)" made the top spot on the US R'n'B charts in June 1973 (lyrics above) while the lovely cover of Prince Phillip Mitchell's "Starting All Over Again" is superlative Stax Soul.  The witty lyrics of Mack Rice' "Cheaper To Keep Her" still bring a smile to a face and a tap to a foot - while the sound quality on the mid-tempo "I Can Read Between The Lines" is gorgeous.

And the funkier singles are a huge treat – off-setting the slightly loverman feel of the album. "Hijackin' Love" made Number 10 on the US R'n'B charts – and with its fantastically punchy funk rhythm – it's easy to hear why. The "…using me for a spare…" choppy Soul of "Standing In For Jody" is great - as is the JB funk of its wicked B-side "Shackin' Up" (another song about another woman's husband). The guitar opening of "Doing My Own Thing" makes you think you’ve stumbled on a John Lee Hooker Blues session, but it then settles into a great Soulful groove which brings the guitar back later. "Part 2" feels like a great James Brown B-side you’re glad you’ve rediscovered. Very, very good indeed…

To sum up – this is as superlative value-for-money reissue with top-notch Seventies Soul and sound quality that trumps everything that’s gone before…

STAX REMASTERS Series to 2014 are (all reviewed):

1. Green Onions – BOOKER T & THE M.G.'s (1962)

2. McLemore Avenue - BOOKER T. & THE M.G.'s (1970)

3. Woman To Woman - SHIRLEY BROWN (1975)

4. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - THE DRAMATICS (1972)

5. Born Under A Bad Sign - ALBERT KING (1967)

6. I'll Play The Blues For You – ALBERT KING (1971)

7. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself - THE STAPLE SINGERS (1972)

8. Taylored In Silk - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1973)

9. Do The Funky Chicken - RUFUS THOMAS (1970)

"Born Under A Bad Sign" by ALBERT KING (June 2013 'Stax Remasters' Expanded Edition CD – Joe Tarantino Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION - Exception CD Remasters  

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"…Hard Luck And Trouble…"

I’ve been collecting and reviewing this “Stax Remasters” series since they first started to appear in May 2011 - and this is only release number 9 – but what a belter it is.

USA released June 2013 - "Born Under A Bad Sign" by ALBERT KING on Stax/Concord Music Group STCX-34334-02 (Barcode 888072343344) offers his 1967 Stax LP Remastered onto CD plus Five Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and breaks down as follows (47:00 minutes):

1. Born Under A Bad Sign [Side 1]

2. Crosscut Saw

3. Kansas City

4. Oh, Pretty Woman

5. Down Don't Bother Me

6. The Hunter

7. I Almost Lost My Mind

8. Personal Manager

9. Laundromat Blues

10. As The Years Go Passing By

11. The Very Thought Of You

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Born Under A Bad Sign" – released August 1967 in the USA on Stax Records S-723 (no UK release)

BONUS TRACKS (All Previously Unreleased):

12. Born Under A Bad Sign (Take 1 – Alternate)

13. Crosscut Saw (Take 1 – Alternate)

14. The Hunter (Take 1 – Alternate)

15. Personal Manager (Take 15 – Alternate)

16. Untitled Instrumental

The 16-page booklet has typically insightful and fun liner notes from Chicago's resident Blues and R 'n' B writing genius BILL DAHL – a man whose talent and passion for the music has graced literally hundreds of reissues and major Box Sets. The pages that follow Dahl reproduce Michael Point's observations from the 2002 CD reissue – then the original liner notes on the back of the 1967 LP - and finally musician and reissue credits. JOE TARANTINO has handled the remaster (as he has for the whole "Stax Remasters" series) and it's superb – full of life and clarity. There's hiss (as there always is on Stax sessions) – but it doesn't detract from the listen – if anything – it feels more live-in-your-living-room for it.

"Born Under A Bad Sign" opens with that title track winner (surely his signature tune) and follows it with another – "Crosscut Saw". Real fast you notice the tight and uber cool band – Stax House players BOOKER T & THE M.G.'s (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr and Booker T. Jones) themselves backed up by the fabulous MEMPHIS HORNS (Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love and Joe Arnold). It's as classic Stax Blues as you can get (Soul too). "Kansas City" still sounds slightly out of place but "The Hunter" turned FREE on and "Personal Manager" is just genius. Unappreciated gems include his cover of Fenton Robinson's "As The Years Go Passing By" and his barroom bluesy take on the crooner classic "The Very Thought Of You" (a 1934 classic).

With the CD having only 47:00 minutes playing time – the 7" single edit of "Personal Manager" (which excludes Albert's guitar solo) could easily have been tagged on – especially as it's actually one of the best tracks on here. But what we do get is a genuine thrill for King fans – a unreleased take. You can see why it was canned though – it runs a tad too fast and looses that fabulous Bluesy feel the master take has. And I love the song’s slyly salacious lyrics "...I want to be your milk man every morning…and your ice-cream man when the day is through…" In fact the other Take 1 Alternates are brilliantly recorded – really clear – you can hear he's getting a feel for the songs but the power on each is there – right from the start. Even the short but untitled 'instrumental' is a winner.

Great stuff – and a must buy…

PS: "STAX REMASTERS" Series to August 2014 are (all reviewed):

1. Green Onions – BOOKER T & THE M.G.’S (1962)

2. McLemore Avenue - BOOKER T. & THE M.G.'S (1970)

3. Woman To Woman - SHIRLEY BROWN (1975)

4. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - THE DRAMATICS (1972)

5. Born Under A Bad Sign - ALBERT KING (1967)

6. I'll Play The Blues For You – ALBERT KING (1971)

7. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself - THE STAPLE SINGERS (1972)

8. Taylored In Silk - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1973)

9. Do The Funky Chicken - RUFUS THOMAS (1970)