"Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee Jay Singles" by JIMMY REED – A&B-sides of Thirty-Nine US 45-Singles (Eleven with 1965 Interview Introductions as Spoken Bonuses) Issued Between July 1953 and December 1965 on Vee Jay Records – Guest Musicians Include Guitarists John Brim, Eddie Taylor, John Littlejohn, Remo Biondi, Lefty Bates, Lonnie Brooks, Hubert Sumlin and Phil Upchurch, Vocalist Mama Reed, Chess Records Bassist and Songwriter Willie Dixon, Bassists Phil Upchurch and Marcus Johnson with Drummers Earl Phillips, Vernell Fournier and Albert Nelson (Albert King the Guitarist) on Drums (August 2017 EU Craft Recordings 3CD 88-Track Foldout Digipak Compilation Collated by Grammy Award Winners Scott Billington and Audio Engineer Paul Blakemore) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Luck-Complet-Jimmy-Reed/dp/B072HTKR4F?crid=2F98MCEOBZ5O6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rSZtD3Oiou5s2dA_82c6Xw.etEpZiSMcTt2IvjbVaOG54GsPIeEtvfozY20P0h_HGc&dib_tag=se&keywords=888072024878&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729935164&sprefix=888072024878%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=75d0ea7f49583d31119d50619b602d70&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Content **** to *****

Presentation ****

Audio *****

"…Big Boss Man…"

Across this three-disc 88-Track bruiser there are eleven Introduction segments where in an interview with the great Jimmy Reed in 1965 – he mumbles and talks about his most famous grooves – most of which (like say Fat Domino) are all the same (he rarely varied a winning combo). But what you really notice are his sense of humour and that he's two-sheets to the wind. 

Matcher (or Mathis) James Reed was born in Leland, Mississippi in September 1925 and of all the Chicago Blues Men with an Electric Guitar who gravitated to that hallowed city in the 40ts and 50ts – Jimmy Reed was probably least likely to succeed and always struggled with alcohol. And yet one look at the Billboard Rhythm and Blues charts of the USA and you will see that Reed and his down-and-dirty warble and chugging beat charted a whomping 20-times between 1955 and 1966 – 19 of those on the independent record label set up by record-shop-owning husband and wife team Vivien Carter and Jimmy Bracken – the V and the J in Vee Jay Records. Seven of them went Top 10 too – three peaking at No.3.

And that's where this beautifully Remastered threesome from Craft comes a-boogieing in. I make no bones (in 2024) about chasing down all things Craft Recordings - I've been besieging our current account to this effect of late where managers are sending round the thought police as a matter on urgent intervention. Craft Recordings is out of the USA and are mostly associated with Stax Records and gorgeous reissues for Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Stax '68, WattStax gigs in 1972 and those four huge Stax Singles Box Sets with eleven or twelve CDs in them (reviewed the lot). 

But they are also heavily involved in Blues and Jazz on both audiophile sounding CDs and VINYL LPs. John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Skip James, Lightnin' Hopkins and Johnnie Taylor are just some of the names that have had long-lost and forgotten albums of the Sixties reissued in 2024 with PAUL BLAKEMORE Remastering – the Grammy-winner responsible for the audio here.

There is a lot of the Big Boss Man to discuss. To the Brights Lights and Big City…

EU released August 2017 - "Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee Jay Singles" by JIMMY REED on Craft Recordings/Vee-Jay/Universal Music Group 
0888072024878 (Barcode 888072024878) is a 3CD 88-Track Compilation Collated by SCOTT BILLINGTON and Mastered by PAUL BLAKEMORE (both Grammy winners) that plays out as follows:

CD1 (13 x US 45s – 5 with 1965 Interview Introductions, 76:49 minutes):
1. High And Lonesome (Introduction)
2. High And Lonesome 
3. Roll And Rhumba 
July 1953, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-100, A&B-sides as Jimmy Reed and His Trio

4. Jimmy's Boogie (aka Jimmies Boogie)
5. Found My Baby Gone (aka I Found My Baby)
January 1954, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 105, A& B-sides

6. You Don't Have To Go (Introduction)
7. You Don't Have To Go
8. Boogie In The Dark
December 1954, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-119, A&B-sides – peaked No.5 R&B

9. I'm Gonna Ruin You
10. Pretty Thing
January 1955, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 132, A&B-sides (reissued April 1955)

11. She Don't Want Me No More
12. I Don't Go For That
September 1955, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 153, A&B-sides (Tracks 12 and 11) – peaked No. 12 R&B

13. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby (Introduction)
14. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
15. Baby, Don't Say That No More
January 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-168, A&B-sides – peaked No.3 R&B

16. Can't Stand To See You Go
17. Rockin' With Reed
April 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 186, A&B-sides – peaked No.10 R&B

18. My First Plea
19. I Love You Baby
July 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 203, A&B-sides (Tracks 19 and 18) – peaked at No.13 R&B

20. You've Got Me Dizzy (Introduction)
21. You've Got Me Dizzy
22. Honey, Don't Let Me Go
November 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay 226, A&B-sides – peaked No.3 R&B

23. Little Rain
24. Honey, Where You Going?
March 1957, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-237, A&B-sides – A-side peaked No.2, B-side peaked No.10 R&B

25. The Sun Is Shining
26. Baby, What's On Your Mind?
June 1957, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 248, A&B-sides – peaked No.10 R&B

27. Honest I Do (Introduction)
28. Honest I Do
29. Signals Of Love
August 1957, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 253, A&B-sides – peaked No.4 R&B

30. You're Something Else
31. A String To Your Heart
January 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 270, A&B-sides

CD2 (13 x US 45-singles – 4 with 1965 Interview Introductions, 70:21 minutes):
1. Go On To School
2. You Got Me Crying
April 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 275, A&B-sides (Tracks 2 and 1)

3. I Know It's A Sin
4. Down In Georgia
July 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 287, A& B-sides (Tracks 4 and 3)

5. I'm Gonna Get My Baby
6. Odds And Ends
October 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 298, A&B-sides – peaked at No.5 R&B

7. I Told You Baby
8. Ends And Odds
December 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 304, A&B-sides – peaked at No.19 R&B

9. Take Out Some Insurance
10. You Know I Love You 
April 1959, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 314, A&B-sides

11. Going To New York (Introduction)
12. Going To New York
13. I Wanna Be Loved 
September 1959, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 326, A&B-sides (Tracks 13 and 12)

14. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Introduction)
15. Baby What You Want Me to Do
16. Caress Me Baby
November 1959, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 333, A&B-sides – peaked at No.10 R&B

17. I Found Love
18. Where Can You Be
May 1960, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 347, A&B-sides – peaked at No.16 R&B

19. Hush Hush
20. Going By The River (Part II)
August 1960, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 357, A&B-sides – peaked at No.18 R&B

21. Close Together
22. Laughing At The Blues
January 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 373, A&B-sides – peaked at No.12 R&B

23. Big Boss Man (Introduction)
24. Big Boss Man
25. I'm A Love You

March 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 380, A&B-sides – peaked at No.13 R&B, No.38 Pop Hit for Elvis Presley in 1967

26. Bright Lights, Big City (Introduction)
27. Bright Lights, Big City
28. I'm Mr. Luck
August 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 398, A&B-sides – peaked at No.3 R&B

29. Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth
30. Baby, What's Wrong?
December 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 425, A&B-sides (Tracks 30 and 29)

CD3 (13 x US 45-singles – 2 with 1965 Interview Introductions, 72:33 minutes):
1. Good Lover
2. Tell Me You Love Me
May 1962, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 459, A&B-sides

3. I'll Change My Style
4. Too Much
July 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 287, A& B-sides

5. Let's Get Together
6. Oh John
November 1962, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 473, A&B-sides

7. Shame, Shame, Shame (Introduction)
8. Shame, Shame, Shame 
9. There'll Be A Day
March 1963, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 509, A&B-sides

10. Mary-Mary
11. I'm Gonna Help You
August 1963, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 552, A&B-sides

12. Out Skirts Of Town
13. St. Louis Blues 
November 1963, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 570, A&B-sides

14. See See Rider
15. We Wee Baby Blues
March 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 584, A&B-sides

16. Help Yourself
17. Heading For A Fall (Things Ain't What They Used To Be)
April 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 593, A&B-sides (probably unreleased)

18. Down In Mississippi
August 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-616, A-side (only)
NOTE: Oh John (Track 6) re-used as the B-side on Vee Jay VJ-616

19. I'm Going Upside Your Head (Introduction)
20. I'm Going Upside Your Head
21. The Devil's Shoestring (Part II)
October 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 622, A&B-sides

22. I Wanna Be Loved
23. A New Leaf
January 1965, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 642, A&B-sides – New Leaf peaked at No.35 R&B

24. Left Handed Woman
25. I'm The Man Down There
August 1965, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-702, A&B-sides (Tracks 25 and 24)

26. When Girls Do It
27. Don't Think I'm Through
December 1965, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-709, A&B-sides

The outer card slipcase usually comes with a Details Sticker housing a three-way fold-out Digipak. It's nice but hardly startling – the 40-page booklet however is a truly in-depth affair. Every session is broken down by players, recording dates and so on. Entitled THE SONGS - after each discography entry is a paragraph detailing the song's history, chart success and his great session players who included musicians like Guitarists John Brim, Eddie Taylor, John Littlejohn, Remo Biondi, Lefty Bates, Lonnie Brooks and Hubert Sumlin, Vocalist Mama Reed, Chess Records Bassist and Songwriter Willie Dixon, Bassists Phil Upchurch and Marcus Johnson with Drummers Earl Phillips, Vernell Fournier and a young Albert Nelson (Albert King the Guitarist) on Drums. 

Jimmy played Carnegie Hall alongside Muddy Waters in the 60ts – his most famous song "Big Boss Man" (recorded March 1960) had Chess writing and playing giant Willie Dixon on his famous Double Bass with Lefty Bates and Lonnie Brooks on Guitars and Mama Reed sharing backing vocals. Jimmy of course took lead vocals and played his Guitar and Harmonica. The endless pages of Discography have trade adverts, chart lists and gig posters sepia-tinted into the background but that is something of a mistake because they are hard to see. SCOTT BILLINGTON has genuine enthusiasm for Reed – affection in his every entry – and it is a pleasure to read. 

As you can imagine, over 75 songs in roughly the same groove can be a bit much to take in one bilge – but what I love is the PAUL BLAKEMORE Remastered AUDIO. Although recordings were at times rough (especially on CD1 which deals with the Fifties) – Craft have done a fantastic job with the Transfers – full of life-affirming boogie. His explanations of how his wife was the principal inspiration for everything (she would sit by the stage and prompt lyrics during notorious inebriated shows) – even thoughts of what it would be like if she up and walked out – his "Shame, Shame, Shame" the result. By the time you get to CD3 and the 60ts and the instruments are wailing in your living room. Fab…

Highlights for me include cool flipsides like "I Don't Go For That" (CD1), "You Know I Love You" (CD2) and "There'll Be A Day" (CD3). You can also hear how tight his band was in the Fifties – Eddie Taylor on Guitar with Earl Phillips on Drums – love that Slide Guitar by John Littlejohn on "Boogie In The Dark" – same track with a young Albert Nelson on Drums soon to become "Born Under A Bad Sign" ace axeman Albert King on Stax in the mid Sixties. "Baby What You Want Me To Do" has Marcus Johnson on Electric Bass with Mama Reed providing Back Up Vocal Pipes. Jimmy assures his lady that she needs a real good lover and the Jimster is the man for the demanding job in "Good Lover". Speaking of Good Lovers - future Blue Thumb Records Jazz-Funk Guitarist Phil Upchurch plays axe on "Where Can You Be" and "Hush Hush" whilst providing Electric Bass on the aforementioned "Good Lover" plus "Too Much". Hubert Sumlin plays Guitar on "I Wanna Be Loved", "Left-Handed Woman" and "A New Leaf" – his last R&B chart entry for Vee Jay in January 1965. 

Most would probably want to cherry pick the best twofer singles on this three-disc Anthology and sequence them onto a Playlist CD-R for home enjoyment – or even the 20 R&B chart entries in a row (Jimmy Reed passed in 1976 whilst gigging in San Francisco). 

Whatever way you play it - "Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee Jay Singles" by JIMMY REED on Craft Recordings is a compilation I will be returning too with a smile on my face. It is not gorgeous – the booklet could have done with more photos and memorabilia repro stuff – but man oh man – that Audio, those often witty lyrics, the drunken grooves with Guitar, Harmonica and his world-weary slush-voice – Big Boss Man indeed…

"Stax '68: A Memphis Story" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring 134 US-Single Sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Shirley Walton, Carla Thomas, William Bell, Mable John, Rufus Thomas, Jeanne & The Darlings, Derek Martin, Linda Lyndell, Isaac Hayes, The Mad Lads, Bar Kays, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Henderson Quartet, Booker T. & The MG's, Eddie Floyd, Delaney & Bonnie, Johnny Daye, Bobby Whitlock, Judy Clay, The Delrays, The Aardvarks, Fresh Air, The Staple Singers, Ollie & The Nightingales, The Soul Children, Charmells, Southwest F.O.B., The Village Sound, Jimmy Hughes, Lindell Hill, The Goodees, Dino & Doc and more on Stax, Volt, Enterprise, Arch, Magic Touch and Hip Records (October 2018 USA Craft Recordings/Stax 5CD 134-Track Book Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stax-68-Memphis-Various-Artists/dp/B07GRRGVWN?crid=3MKD89EXJWNWR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aoSbIiKMg7EYY4tpS1EXVNAULizW9EeM0cLJFeHuEps.FKqGHdJ5MEZE21LshpLEBibI9aylAcCKFVuM_-U9Cf4&dib_tag=se&keywords=888072053649&qid=1721738764&sprefix=888072053649%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=39de0b3f297f791333b3b24136a59a6a&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

This Review Along With 215 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"SOUL GALORE!" 

60ts Soul, R&B, Northern Soul

Mod, New Breed, Funk, Rare Grooves

Atlantic, Chess, Motown, Stax Labels and many more...

 

Your Guide To The Best CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

 

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RATINGS: **** Music, **** Presentation, ***** Audio

"…It's Been A Long Time Coming…"

Craft Recordings of the USA (part of the Concord Music Group out of Cleveland) have been bamboozling Stax Records fans for some years now – their inaugural releases begun in 2017. Craft have also caught the eye of those Audiophile Collectors whose interests stretch past famously well-recorded Rock and Pop Music to Vintage Music that can be re-presented better with the latest technology - old Vee Jay Blues, Latin, Salsa and Boogaloo on Fania Records, Prestige Jazz, Riverside Folk-Blues and Classic 60t's and 70t's Soul. Craft are also now synonymous with quality mastering from original tapes by award-winning Audio Engineers like Paul Blakemore (who did this set), Joe Tarantino, Kevin Gray, Greg Calbi, Jeff Powell, Dave Cooley, Bernie Grundman and more.

In fact, you could (and should) surmise that I have a thang for Craft Recordings who have celebrated loads of quirky/worthy recipients with reissues on CD, LP and Hi-Res Download Files – good folks like John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Skip James, Albert King, the super-rare Cuban Jam Sessions LPs from the Sixties on Panart Records, Creedence Clearwater Revival in London at the Royal Albert Hall in April 1970, Terry Callier's beautiful almost entirely acoustic debut album The New Folk Soul Of on Prestige Records in 1968 (recorded in 1966), R.E.M at the BBC, a 2CD expanded revamp of Jewel's 1995 debut Pieces Of You, a 2CD 40th Anniversary reissue of the 1983 self-titled Violent Femmes debut album (originally on Rough Trade Records) and even England's Travis at Glastonbury.

And I've loved (reviewed most too) Craft's many celebratory releases on all things Stax-related with stunning multiple-disc retrospectives on Isaac Hayes The Spirit Of Memphis (1962-1976), The Staple Singers Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection, Various Artists for Stax Singles 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest, the rare 45s of an under-appreciated Stax subsidiary label The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection, a huge 140 Previously Unreleased in the Various Artists set Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos and live Music vs. Politics in the full-on re-presentation of Wattstax 72: The Complete Concert - originally a two x double-album set of vinyl releases back in the Seventies - now presented to us in 6 or 12-CD all-encompassing behemoth variants. There are loads more - many on celebrated well-mastered VINYL outings too that (as I said) audiophiles have been waking up to across this last seven years.

And thus, we come to a pivotal year for Soul and R&B – 1968 – Stax Records at the crossroads not just musically and commercially but spiritually too. Losses and gains – too many of the first perhaps and not enough outside of musical accolades of the second. There is much to love here BUT there is also unfortunately some serious cack to deride (hence the 4-stars and not 5). To the details…

US released 19 October 2018 - "Stax '68: A Memphis Story" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Craft Recordings/Stax CR00103 (Barcode 888072053649) is a 5CD 134-Track Book Set of New Remasters that features the A and B-sides of 67 US 45-Singles released on STAX Records and its affiliated labels (Volt, Enterprise, Arch, Magic Touch and Hip) throughout 1968.

It has an attached 56-page book with new liner notes from Stax experts ANDRIA LISLE and ROBERT GORDON (as essay called Dreams To Remember on Pages 4 to 22) and STEVE GREENBERG (as essay called Stax 1968: The Three Shocks And Their Aftermath on Pages 23 to 47 - Greenberg is the founder of S-Curve Records and was Producer for the 9CD Box Set The Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-1968). Also featured are previously unissued photographs from the archives, Artist Promo and Personal Photos in Black and White and Colour, US Trade Adverts, Newspaper Clippings, Company Letters on Headed Paper and Song-by-Song Writer Credits, Catalogue Numbers, Release Dates etc (no personnel). Some titles like those on Arch Records or the primarily Rock & Pop label Hip Records make their CD debut here - while some B-sides were Non-LP and still hard to find on CD and are therefore rarities. Craft Recordings' "Stax '68: A Memphis Story" plays out as follows:

CD1 (69:23 minutes, 26 Tracks, 13 Singles)
Volt Singles Black & Orange Label repro on CD, hard card leaf holder pictures Booker T & The MGs September 1968 US LP "Soul Limbo" in colour

Each coupling of titles is the US 45 A-side first, B-side next - the release date on line 3, Label and Catalogue Number, and the chart positions on Billboard R&B and Pop will almost always be for the A-side (unless otherwise stated)

1. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay – OTIS REDDING 
2. Sweet Lorene 
8 January 1968, Volt 45-157, R&B No.1, Pop No.1

3. I Thank You – SAM & DAVE
4. Wrap It Up
8 January 1968, Stax 45-242, R&B No.4, Pop No.9

5. Don't Pass Your Judgement – THE MEMPHIS NOMADS
6. I Wanna Be (Your Lover & Your Honey)
January 1968, Stax 45-243 – non chart

7. I Was Born To Love You – SHIRLEY WALTON
8. I'm So Glad You're Back
January 1968, Enterprise 45-001 – non chart

9. Lovey Dovey – OTIS REDDING & CARLA THOMAS
10. New Year's Resolution
24 January 1968, Stax 45-244, R&B No.21, Pop No.60

11. I Got A Sure Thing – OLLIE & THE NIGHTINGALES
12. Girl, You Have My Heart Singing
1 February 1968, Stax 45- 245, R&B No.16, Pop No.73

13. Big Bird – EDDIE FLOYD 
14. Holding On With Both Hands 
1 February 1968, Stax 45-246 – non chart

15. A Hard Day's Night – BAR-KAYS
16. I Want Someone
February 1968, Volt 45-158 – non chart - A-side is a Beatles cover version

17. Next Time – JOHNNIE TAYLOR
18. Sundown 
14 February 1968, Stax 45-247, R&B No.34

19. Every Man Oughta Have A Woman – WILLIAM BELL
20. A Tribute To A King 
12 March 1968, Stax 45-248, R&B No.16, Pop No.86

21. Able Mabel – MABLE JOHN 
22. Don't Get Caught 
12 March 1968, Stax 45-249 – non chart

23. The Memphis Train – RUFUS THOMAS
24. I Think I Made A Boo Boo 
12 March 1968, Stax 45-250 – non chart

25. What Will Later On Be Like – JEANNE & THE DARLINGS
26. Hang Me Now 
22 March 1968, Volt 45-159 – non chart

CD2 (60:17 minutes, 22 Tracks, 11 Singles)
Stax Singles Green Label repro on CD, hard card leaf holder pictures Eddie Floyd October 1968 US LP "I've Never Loved A Girl" in colour
Each coupling is the US 45 single, A-side first, B-side next

1. Soul Power – DEREK MARTIN
2. Sly Girl
22 March 1968, Volt 45-160 – non chart

3. Bring Your Love Back To Me – LINDA LYNDELL
4. Here I Am 
26 March 1968, Vol 45-161 – non chart

5. A Dime A Dozen – CARLA THOMAS
6. I Want You Back
29 March 1968, Stax 45-251 – non chart

7. Groovy Day – KANGAROO'S
8. Every Man Needs A Woman
March 1968, Hip H-113 – non chart (Produced by Isaac Hayes/David Porter)

9. Precious Precious – ISAAC HAYES
10. Going To Chicago Blues 
16 March 1968, Enterprise 45-002 – non chart

11. Whatever Hurts You – THE MAD LADS
12. No Time Is Better Than Now
8 April 1968, Volt 45-162 – R&B No.31

13. The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) – OTIS REDDING
14. Open The Door 
8 April 1968, Volt 45-163, R&B No.10, Pop No.25

15. (I Love) Lucy – ALBERT KING
16. You're Gonna Need Me
8 April 1968, Stax 45-252 – R&B No.46

17. I Ain't Particular – JOHNNIE TAYLOR
18. Where There's Smoke There's Fire
25 April 1968, Stax 45-253 – R&B No.45

19. Georgy Girl – EDDIE HENDERSON QUINTET
20. A Million Or More Times
April 1968, Enterprise 45-003 – non chart

21. Send Peace And Harmony Home – SHIRLEY WALTON
22. The One You Can't Have All By Yourself
May 1968, Enterprise 45-004 – non chart

CD3 (79:21 minutes, 29 Tracks, 15 Singles – see Notes)
Stax Singles Yellow Label repro on CD, hard card leaf holder pictures The Staple Singers December 1968 US LP "Soul Folk In Action" in colour
Each coupling is the US 45 A-side first, B-side next (see NOTES below)

1. Soul-Limbo – BOOKER T. & THE MG'S
2. Heads Or Tails
31 May 1968, Stax STA-0001, R&B No.7, Pop No.17

3. I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) – EDDIE FLOYD
4. I'm Just The Kind Of Fool
31 May 1968, Stax STA-0002, R&B No.2, Pop No.40

5. It's Been A Long Time Coming – DELANEY & BONNIE
6. We've Just Been Feeling Bad
31 May 1968, Stax STA-0003 - non chart

7. What A Man – LINDA LYNDELL
8. I Don't Know
17 June 1968, Volt VOA-4001, R&B No.50

9. Broadway Freeze – HARVEY SCALES & THE SEVEN SOUNDS
10. I Can't Cry Any No More
17 June 1968, Magic Touch MTA-16001 – non chart

11. Stay Baby Stay – JOHNNY DAYE
12. I Love Love
15 July 1968, Stax STA-0004 – non chart

13. Raspberry Rug – BOBBY WHITLOCK
14. And I Love You
1 July 1968, Hip H-8001 – non chart

15. Private Number – JUDY CLAY and WILLIAM BELL
16. Love-Eye-Tis
15 July 1968, Stax STA-0005, R&B No.17, Pop No.75

17. I Like Everything About You – JIMMY HUGHES
18. What Side Of The Door
15 July 1968, Volt VOA-4002, R&B No.21

19. Lollipop Lady – THE DELRAYS
20. (There's) Always Something There To Remind Me
July 1968, Arch ARA-1301 – non chart

21. Remone – LINDELL HILL
22. Used To Be Love 
26 July 1968. Arch ARA-1302 – non chart

23. Subconscious Train Of Thought – THE AARDVARKS
24. Unicorn Man 
August 1968, Arch ARA-1303 – non chart

25. Somebody Stole My Gal – FRESH AIR
26. Somebody Stole My Gal (Instrumental)
22 August 1968, Arch ARA-1304 – non chart

27. Bed Of Roses – JUDY CLAY
28. Remove These Clouds
September 1968, Stax STA-0006 – non chart

29. Long Walk To D.C. – THE STAPLE SINGERS
September 1968, Stax STA-0007 – A-side – non chart (see Notes)

NOTES on CD3: 
The last song on CD3 is The Staple Singers "Long Walk To D.C.", the A-side to Stax 0007 – its B-side "Stay With Us" is the first track on CD4

CD4 (78:35 minutes, 29 Tracks, 14 Singles – see Notes)
Volt Singles Blue Label repro on CD, hard card leaf holder pictures Johnnie Taylor December 1968 US LP "Who's Making Love…" in colour
Each coupling is the US 45 A-side first, B-side next (see NOTES below)

1. Stay With Us – THE STAPLE SINGERS
September 1968, Stax STA-0007 – B-side - non chart (see Notes)

2. Give 'Em Love – THE SOUL CHILDREN
3. Move Over
September 1968, Stax STA-0008 – non chart

4. Who's Making Love – JOHNNIE TAYLOR
5. I'm Trying
September 1968, Stax 0009, R&B No.1, Pop No.5

6. Funky Mississippi – RUFUS THOMAS
7. So Hard To Get Along With
September 1068, Stax STA-0010 – non chart - A-side by Eddie Floyd

8. Where Do I Go – CARLA THOMAS
9. I've Fallen In Love
September 1968, Stax STA-0011, R&B No.38, Pop No.88

10. So Nice – THE MAD LADS
11. Make Room
September 1968, Volt VOA-4003, R&B No.35

12. Lovin' Feeling – CHARMELLS
13. Sea Shell 
September 1968, Volt VOA-4004 – non chart – A-side is Righteous Brothers cover

14. It's Unbelievable (How You Control My Soul) – JEANNE & THE DARLINGS
15. I Like What You're Doing To Me
September 1968, Volt VOA-4005 – non chart

16. Smell Of Incense – SOUTHWEST F.O.B.
17. Green Skies
(Originally issued 10 July 1968 on GPC Records 1945)
Reissued September 1968, Hip HIA-8002 – non chart

18. Sally's Got A Good Thing – THE VILLAGE SOUND
19. The La La Song
September 1968, Hop HIA-8003 – non chart

20. Bring It On Home To Me – EDDIE FLOYD
21. Sweet Things To Do
12 October 1968, Stax STA-0012, R&B No.4, Pop No.17

22. Hang 'Em High – BOOKER T. & THE MG's
23. Over Easy 
12 October 1968, Stax STA-0013, R&B No.35, Pop No.9

24. You're Leaving Me – OLLIE & THE NIGHTINGALES
25. Showered With Love
19 October 1968, Stax STA-0014, R&B No.47

26. Kitchy Kitchy Koo – THE POP CORN GENERATION 
27. Shake It
October 1968, Hip HIA-8004 – non chart

28. Copy Kat – BAR-KAYS
29. In The Hole
2 November 1968, Volt VOA-4007 – non chart 

NOTES on CD4:
The last song on CD3 is The Staple Singers "Long Walk To D.C.", the A-side to Stax 0007 – its B-side "Stay With Us" is the first track on CD4

CD5 (78:17 minutes, 28 Tracks, 14 Singles)
Hip Single Label repro on CD, hard card leaf holder pictures Albert King October 1968 US LP "Live Wire – Blues Power" in colour
Each coupling is the US 45 single, A-side first, B-side next

1. Mighty Cold Winter – DINO & DOC [James Walker & Arthur L. Merriwether]
2. A Woman Can't Do (What A Man Do)
2 November 1968, Volt VOA-4006 – non chart

3. I Forgot To Be Your Lover – WILLIAM BELL
4. Bring The Curtain Down
November 1968, Stax STA-0015, R&B No.10, Pop No.45

5. Condition Red – THE GOODEES
6. Didn't Know Love Was So Good 
23 November 1968, Hip HIA-8005 – non chart

7. Running out – MABLE JOHN
8. Shouldn't I Love Him
30 November 1968, Stax STA-0016 – non chart

9. Family Portrait – BILLY LEE RILEY
10. Going Back To Memphis
November 1968, Hip HIA-8006 – non chart

11. My Baby Specializes – WILLIAM BELL and JUDY CLAY
12. Left Over Love
December 1968, Stax STA-0017, R&B No.45, Pop No.104

13. I'll Understand – THE SOUL CHILDREN
14. Doing Our Thang 
December 1968, Stax STA-0018, R&B No. 29

15. The Ghetto – THE STAPLE SINGERS
16. Got To Be Some Changes Made
December 1968, Stax STA-0019, - non chart

17. Blues Power (Edit) – ALBERT KING
18. Night Stomp (Edit)
December 1968, Stax STA-0020 – non chart – both sides live

19. The Echo – THE EPSILONS
20. Really Rockin
13 December 1968, Stax STA-0021- non chart – B-side is an instrumental

21. Funky Way – RUFUS THOMAS
22. I Want To Hold You
13 December 1968, Stax STA-0022 – non chart

23. The Children Have Your Tongue – THIS GENERATION
24. Give Her What She Wants
20 December 1968, Hip HIA-8007 – non chart

25. Who's Making Love – DAARON LEE
26. Long Black Train
20 December 1968, Hip HIA-8008 – non chart – A-side is a Johnnie Taylor cover

27. Take Care Of Your Homework – JOHNNIE TAYLOR
28. Hold On This Time
21 December 1968, Stax STA-0023, R&B No.2, Pop No.20

Produced by JOE McEWEN with the help of Robert Gordon, Chris Clough, Ryan Wilson, Sig Sigworth and Mason Williams - visually these Book Sets pack a punch if not being a tad unwieldy in real world use. The hard card CD holding leaves mentioned above are gorgeous – full colour plates of iconic Stax LPs – while snaps throughout the text show cool moments like Producer Steve Greenberg with a stoned Janis Joplin at a house party – Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper (of Booker T) giving it some twin guitar poses like a Memphis version of Status Quo, white vocalist Delaney Bramlett shares a smile moment with Pervis Staples. You get Otis Redding's vocal group discovery The Epsilons, the mighty Mavis and Pops Staples checking Stax tape boxes, Linda Lyndell looking like she's ready for a night on the Vegas craps stood beside her Cadillac, Obituary cards and service itineraries for Phalon Jones, Jr. on 21 December 1967 – the Saxophone player in Otis Redding's backing band The Bar-Kays who died in the plane crash that also took Otis. And the darker surrounding picture too - photos of Rufus Thomas at City Hall with racist Mayor Henry Loeb as Memphis erupted post the Martin Luther King assassination while armed cops sit on cars outside, a sit-in by black postal and sanitation staff with Decent Wages For All Workers placards - the No Left Turn and I Am A Man protests - Honor King: End Racism cards held in hands as they march in their thousands (the cover photo). 

As you read the text and are hit with photos that espouse both joy and menace, it's a strange brew of electric progress vs. electric shocks – one step forward musically – two steps pushed back politically. But I focus on the positive – the vibe the music gave you – the images of abandon and sexiness and cool people getting it on. You gotta love the colour shots of William Bell and Judy Clay – the Stax cool couple of 1968 – Eddie Floyd at an airport shouting at jets to get on up Big Bird. There is also talk of the bitter and hamstringing distribution deal Stax and Atlantic had on paper (clauses put in by lawyers) whilst mentors like Jerry Wexler and Nesuhi Ertegun simultaneously professed solidarity with the label Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton had built with a roster of great artists. Disgusted the money was not enough during renegotiations, Stax walked away and would eventually dissolve into financial chaos in 1975. But outside all of this is the music – their identity moving into the realms of an Independent Black Music Company that appealed to ALL sides of the bombarded demographic. 

However, there is something of an elephant in the Soul Room about this release that should be talked about – that cover photo – and its supposed context with Stax. Although Stax was considered by punters like me (shall we say) to be more hard-hitting than the hit-single-chasing Motown – politics as this set tries to frame - was NOT their thing. As you listen to five CDs of Stax singles in 1968 – they chased that Billboard dragon just as hard as Motown and only on occasion did the positivity and action messages of The Staple Singers sing anything about the Black Experience of endemic Racism, workers inequality and slumlord misery ("Long Walk To D.C." and "The Ghetto"). The Vietnam War is not in here – William Bell's response to the loss of Redding ("A Tribute To A King") was a flipside to the business-as-usual A-side - "Every Man Oughta Have A Woman". Stax Music was obsessed with girls and relationships and the battle of the sexes – it wanted dancers and Funk and popularity in their R&B chartings - but hard political action in their songs – not here. That is not to say they didn’t get involved in the background – they did – but on 45-single – out front for the public to see – Stax were about shifting hit single units as much as the next guy trying to make in a fractured world.

PAUL BLAKEMORE did the Mastering – an award-winning Audio Engineer – and it just so damn good. For sure little is going to save the disastrous Rock-orientated label Hip Records were Stax seemed to be completely oblivious to what worked or was even any good. But throughout, you are hit with clarity, very little hiss, warm Bass and punchy Brass and of course discoveries that thrill and intrigue. Details…

I cannot hear the Otis Redding death song (Dock of the Bay) another time (too sad) and the Sam & Dave cut "I Thank You" is standard dancer fare for them. The lesser-heard Memphis Nomads had one 45 on Stax – the hug you and kiss you every night B-side "I Wanna Be (Your Lover & Your Honey)" being the tastier cut. Lovely and criminally forgotten is how I'd describe the rare Shirley Walton track "I Was Born To Love You" – a piano and strings pleading stroller – Shirley ably supported by some impassioned and soulful vocals from the backing ladies. And again the flipside for Otis & Carla is the best choice - "New Year's Resolution" while the Ollie & The Nightingales winner "I Got A Sure Thing" is a gem benefitting hugely from the Gary US Bonds type guttural rasp of lead vocalist Ollie Haskins (it has an equally sexy B-side, no wonder the single is sought after). Considering how good it is and with that HUGE brass and guitar start, it is odd that the chunky/funky get on up "Big Bird" from Eddie Floyd. 

CD5 offers us the very Sam & Dave earnest intensity of "Mighty Cold Winter" by the obscure duo of Dino & Doc (James Walker and Arthur L. Merriwether) – tears falling from their collective eyes in the month of July. They swap lead vocals on the hard-hitting morality-tale dancer B-side "A Woman Can't Do (What A Man Do)" making Volt VOA-4006 a tasty and sought-after double-header. That's followed by an effective chart-tickling pleader from William Bell – our Bill forgetting to be his baby's lover – and forgetful Bell feels so bad on the flipside that he literally wants to "Bring The Curtain Down". Cheesy, cornball, hugely enjoyable kitsch, contender for Kenny Everett’s worst records of all time – you could call the girl group Goodees sole entry "Condition Red" all these things and undoubtedly it would have at home on Phil Spector Records (long-hair bearded hippy courts dew-eyed lass, skeptical parents, bike ride and car-crash all in the same song). Their flipside is better – Girl Group harmonies and cool arrangements ahoy on "Didn't Know Love Was So Good" – a cool inclusion frankly. 

How in God's name the fantastic Ashford & Simpson written "Running Out" by Mable John was not a hit is a God Damn mystery (running out of forgiveness and tear drops) – her pleading to the girls for endorsement flipside "Shouldn't I Love Him" equal too. With that slight Amy Whitehouse innocent twang in her unusual voice, this pairing shows me why Mable John is such an unsung hero in certain circles. The Albert King 45 "Blues Power" is talking-to-the-audience moocher that is edited down from the album's ten minutes to a more manageable 3:07 minutes on 45 – the almost Allman Brothers Funky-Blues instrumental flipside "Night Stomp" too – down from 6:40 minutes to a more digestible 3:40 minutes. 

The HIP Label seemed to be an unmitigated disaster - horrible twee bubblegum and attempts at Pop & Rock songs chasing the charts by acts that are forgotten - and rightly so (the end run on CD5 is particularly depressing alleviated only by the final pairing of Johnnie Taylor). But then there's the discoveries - Dino & Doc's cool duo "Mighty Cold Winter" and its flipside - the Ollie & The Nightingale sides that ooze Vocal Soul class - Jeanne & The Darlings - the ever-suave Mad Lads. Soon to be a Domino for Eric Clapton's Derek & The Dominoes - Bobby Whitlock gets his moment and there are choice entries from Lindell Hill and a personal rave of mine - Linda Lyndell (what a gal, lucky man to have her). And I love B-sides - the rare one for Judy Clay and William Bell's "Private Number" called "Love-Eye-Tis" - the Eddie Floyd flip "I'm Just The Kind Of Fool" and Jimmy Hughes "What Side Of The Door".

A 5CD Book Set like "Stax '68: A Memphis Story" was/is always going to be a serious fan-affair. But if you get the inclination and a swelling of your wallet to the point where you can hide it among the spines on shelves and the missus can't batter you over the head with a rolling-pin spiked with nails - then splash out. 

I'm actively hunting down all these Craft Recordings splurges and despite minor distractions and plot anomalies - I'm knee-trembling at the lot of them. 

Well done to all involved at Craft Recordings and Concord Music Group and like those stunning Motown Year Books Hip-O Select did with fabulous Ellen Fitton mastering - roll on 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 etc for the equally worthy STAX...

"Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011" by R.E.M. – 40-Track Career Retrospective Including EP and Album Tracks on I.R.S. and Warner Brothers Records Plus Three New Songs – Band featuring Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck and Bill Berry (November 2011 UK Warner Brothers Records 2CD Remastered Compilation with Three New Songs in A Tri-fold Card Sleeve Presentation) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…I Can Taste The Ocean On Your Skin..."

 

A career retrospective for the mighty R.E.M. was always going to be an impressive thing to listen to – and the deeply satisfying 2CD "Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011" is just that. 

 

With brilliant tracks choices, quality muscular Remasters, each of the toothsome four contributing informative and witty liner notes for all thirty-seven career songs (the three new ones too) – it may not look like the most inviting twofer that has ever existed (any R.E.M. album sporting packaging that reflects that majesty and legacy is as ever with them - another story) – but in terms of fantastic content and Audio – this double delivers. To the sidewinders and new test lepers...

 

UK released 11 November 2011 - "Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011" by R.E.M. on Warner Brothers Records 9362-49536-4 (Barcode 093624953647) is a Remastered 2CD 40-Track Career Retrospective with Three New Songs that plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (76:25 minutes):

1. Gardening At Night

2. Radio Free Europe

3. Talk About The Passion

4. Sitting Still

5. So. Central Rain

6. (Don't Go Back To) Rockville

7. Driver 8

8. Life And How To Live It

9. Begin The Begin

10. Fall On Me

11. Finest Worksong

12. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

13. The One I Love

14. Stand

15. Pop Song 89

16. Get Up

17. Orange Crush

18. Losing My Religion

19. Country Feedback

20. Shiny Happy People

21. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight

NOTES on CD1:

Track 1 from the August 1982 US 12" 5-Track Debut EP Single "Chronic Town"

Tracks 2, 3 and 4 are from their April 1983 debut album "Murmur"

Tracks 5 and 6 are from their April 1984 second album "Reckoning"

Tracks 7 and 8 are from their June 1985 third album "Fables Of The Reconstruction"

Tracks 9 and 10 are from their July 1986 fourth album "Lifes Rich Pageant"

Tracks 11, 12 and 13 are from their September 1987 fifth studio album "Document" (and last for I.R.S. Records)

Tracks 14, 15, 16 and 17 are from their November 1988 sixth album "Stand" (and first for Warner Brothers Records)

Tracks 18, 19 and 20 are from their March 1991 seventh studio album "Out Of Time"

Track 21 from their October 1992 eight studio album "Automatic For The People"

 

CD2 (75:44 minutes):

1. Everybody Hurts

2. Man On The Moon

3. Nightswimming

4. What's The Frequency, Kenneth?

5. New Test Leper

6. Electrolite

7. At My Most Beautiful

8. The Great Beyond

9. Imitation Of Life

10. Bad Day

11. Leaving New York

12. Living Well Is The Best Revenge

13. Supernatural Superserious

14. Überlin

15. Oh My Heart

16. Alligator-Aviator-Autopilot-Antimatter

17. A Months Of Saturdays

18. We All Go Back To Where We Belong

19. Hallelujah

NOTES on CD2:

Tracks 1, 2 and 3 are from their October 1992 eighth studio album "Automatic For The People"

Track 4 is from their September 1994 ninth studio album "Monster"

Tracks 5 and 6 are from their September 1996 tenth studio album "New Adventures in Hi-Fi"

Track 7 is from their October 1998 eleventh studio album "Up"

Track 8 is from the November 1999 R.E.M. Soundtrack Album to the Movie about Andy Kaufman (Jim Carrey in the title role) called "Man On The Moon"

Track 9 is from their May 2001 twelfth studio album "Reveal"

Track 10 was one of two exclusive tracks specially recorded for the October 2003 compilation "In Time: The Best Of R.E.M 1988-2003"

Track 11 is from their October 2004 thirteenth studio album "Around The Sun"

Tracks 12 and 13 are from their March 2008 fourteenth studio album "Accelerate"

Tracks 14, 15 and 16 are from the March 2011 fifteenth and final album "Collapse Into Now"

Tracks 17, 18 and 19 are NEW ORIGINAL R.E.M. SONGS recorded for this compilation

 

There are several UK/EURO variants of this release – the jewel case version on Warner Brothers 9362-49534-5 and a Digipak version on Warner Brothers 529088-2 – but I opted for the Card Sleeve variant above. As is typical of their frankly crap artwork – the pictures are useless and oblique both on the outside and in. The 20-page booklet is better in that it breaks down the tracks one-by-one and there are the comments. The audio courtesy of PAUL BLAKEMORE (an award-winning engineer associated most with Craft Recordings and their reissues of Stax and CCR) is gorgeous throughout – remasters from both I.R.S. and Warner Brothers periods that are beautifully realized.

 

But what I like about this as a listen is that both CDs are seriously impressive. For sure the Indie/Alt Rock I.R.S. Records output (1982 to 1987) just before signing to the major label Warner Brothers was beginning to sound samey and change was needed. But tunes like "So. Central Rain", "Talk About The Passion" and "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" still tingle the old arm-hairs. Then there are those singles too when the public began to take serious notice - "Stand", "Orange Crush" and the Andy Kaufman movie song "Man On The Moon" that not only smacked of maturity but songwriting greatness. But what I love here are the deep dives that have been forgotten – "New Test Leper" and "Electrolite" from the superb "New Adventures In Hi-Fi" album or the gorgeous I know what I am chasing "Überlin" and the return of that mandolin sound on the swirling magical "Oh My Heart". And of course the anthemic "Everybody Hurts" still slays and elicits so many memories.

 

Speaking of "Shiny Happy People" and those "Losing My Religion" - in truth you could load this 2CD retro with nuggets from the two big breakthrough albums "Out Of Time" and "Automatic For The People" on Warner Brothers. But the band wants you to take in the later releases. And man when our yank pals let it Rock - "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" or the "In Time: Best Of..." gem "Bad Day" or the punky teenage angst of "Alligator-Aviator-Autopilot-Antimatter" with guest singer Peaches and Nuggets hero Lenny Kaye on wild guitar – R.E.M. were/are utterly awesome. And while you can dismiss the decidedly disappointing "A Month Of Saturdays" (one of the three newbees) – the orchestrated Burt Bacharach-sounding "We All Go Back To Where We Belong" is a melodic thrill that reminds you of how much you loved their swaying songs – I can taste the ocean on your skin. "Hallelujah" is a worthy song to end their tenure on – a tune that somehow encapsulates a lot of their favorite soundscapes.

 

The quirkilly titled "Part Lies Part Heart Part Truth Part Garbage 1982-2011" isn't pretty to look at – hardly even tactile to hold either – but the aural song goodies are in there in spades – and then some.

 

R.E.M. would call it quits as an American Alternative Rock Band soon after (the artwork for the final album "Collapse Into Now" even had Michael Stipe waving from the front cover as if to say goodbye, but as he says in the liner notes, no one seem to get the in-joke) and in 2023 they seem all but forgotten as one of the greats. You can buy this twofer goody two shoes for under a fiver – invest and discover why all roads once lead to Athens, Georgia...