"Faith & Grace: A Family Journey 1953-1976" by THE STAPLE SINGERS (November 2015 Stax 4CD Box Set - Paul Blakemore Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...A Long Walk To D.C...."

It feels like I've been waiting nearly 4 decades for this Universal/Stax Box Set – and as much as I love the fact that the hugely underrated first family of Soul THE STAPLE SINGERS are at last being celebrated with a full on retrospective – "Faith & Grace" has real problems in its presentation (packaging that actually damages the discs) and could have contained so much more in terms of actual content.

On the upside though it also boasts some of the most extraordinary Audio Remastering of their catalogue that I've ever had the pleasure of laying my tired old lugs on. This box set sounds truly fabulous - SACD-good in places. So if you’re ready...come go with me...

UK released December 2015 (November 2015 in the USA) – "Faith & Grace: A Family Journey 1953-1976" by THE STAPLE SINGERS on Stax STX 36969-02 (Barcode 88072369696) is a 7" Single-Sized 4CD Book Set - An 80-Track Career Retrospective with a Repro 7" Vinyl Single Included (their first ever 78" release in 1953 on Royal Records 204 of 500 copies with "Faith And Grace" on the A-side and "These Are They" on the B – neither included on the CDs) and a 56-Page Attached Booklet with new essays and annotation. It plays out as follows:

Disc 1, Burgundy Vee-Jay Label  (52:57 minutes):

1. It Rained Children (September 1953 US 78" on United U-165, A, Mono)

2. I Just Can't Keep It To Myself (1954 US LP by The Caravans (Side 1) and The Staple Singers (Side 2) called "A Gospel Program" on Gospel Records MG 3001, Mono)

3. Each Day (1963 US Mono LP "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" on Vee-Jay LP-5030)

4. God's Wonderful Love (1956 US 7" single and 78" on Vee-Jay 169, A – and on the 1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee-Jay Records LP-5000)

5. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again (1956 US 7" single and 78" on Vee-Jay 169, B of "God's Wonderful Love" – and on the 1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee-Jay Records LP-5000)

6. I've Got A New Home (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

7. Uncloudy Day (November 1956 US 7" single and 78" on Vee-Jay VJ 224, A – and on the 1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee-Jay Records LP-5000)

8. Come On Up In Glory (1960 US Mono LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on Vee-Jay LP 5008)

9. I Know I've Got Religion (November 1956 US 7" single and 78" on Vee-Jay VJ 224, B – and on the 1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee-Jay Records LP-5000)

10. Swing Down Chariot (Let Me Ride) (1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee-Jay Records LP-5000)

11. I Had A Dream (1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee Jay Records LP-5000)

12. Help Me Jesus (1958 US 7" single on Vee Jay 856, B-side of "I Had A Dream" – and 1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee Jay Records LP-5000)

13. Love Is The Way (1958 US 7" single on Vee Jay 866, A – and 1959 US Mono LP "Uncloudy Day" on Vee Jay Records LP-5000)

14. This May Be The Last Time (Alternate Take) (1961 US Mono LP "Swing Low" on Vee Jay LP-5014)

15. So Soon (1959 US 7" single on Vee Jay VJ 881, B-side of "Downward Road" – and on the 1960 US Mono LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on Vee Jay LP-5008)

16. I'm So Glad (1963 US 7" single on Vee Jay VJ 930, non-album B-side of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot")

17. Pray On (1960 US 7" single on Vee Jay VJ 893, A – and on the 1960 US Mono LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on Vee Jay LP-5008)

18. Good News (1961 US Mono LP "Swing Low" on Vee Jay LP-5014)

19. Downward Road (1959 US 7" single on Vee Jay VJ 881, A – and on the 1960 US Mono LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on Vee Jay LP-5008)

20. Don't Drive Me Away (April 1960 US 7" single on Vee Jay VJ 885, A – and on the 1960 US Mono LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on Vee Jay LP-5008)

NOTES: All Tracks Are MONO – Track 6 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 2, Black Vee-Jay Label (68:34 minutes):

1. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (April 1960 US 7" single on Vee-Jay VJ 885, B-side of "Don't Drive Me Away" – and on the 1960 US Mono LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on Vee-Jay LP-5008)

2. Don't Knock (September 1961 US 7" single on Vee-Jay VJ 902, A – and on the 1960 US Mono LP "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" on Vee-Jay LP-5008)

3. Medley: Too Close/I'm On My Way Home/I'm Coming Home/He's Alright (Live) (Full Medley - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

4. Swing Low (August 1972 US 7" single on Vee-Jay VJ 912, B-side of "Sit Down Servant" – and on the 1961 US Mono LP "Swing Low" on Vee Jay LP-5014)

5. Calling Me (1961 US Mono LP "Swing Low" on Vee-Jay LP-5014)

6. Stand By Me (1961 US Mono LP "Swing Low" on Vee-Jay LP-5014)

7. Hammer And Nails (June 1962 US 7" single on Riverside R-4518, A – and 1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "Hammer And Nails" on Riverside RLP 3501 (Mono) and RLP 93501 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

8. Gloryland (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "Hammer And Nails" on Riverside RLP 3501 (Mono) and RLP 93501 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

9. Hear My Call, Here (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "Hammer And Nails" on Riverside RLP 3501 (Mono) and RLP 93501 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

10. Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "Hammer And Nails" on Riverside RLP 3501 (Mono) and RLP 93501 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

11. New-Born Soul (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "Hammer And Nails" on Riverside RLP 3501 (Mono) and RLP 93501 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

12. Dying Man's Plea (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "Hammer And Nails" on Riverside RLP 3501 (Mono) and RLP 93501 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

13. Great Day (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "Hammer And Nails" on Riverside RLP 3501 (Mono) and RLP 93501 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

14. There Was A Star (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "The Twenty-Fifth Day Of December" on Riverside RLP 3513 (Mono) and RLP 93513 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

15. Use What You Got (1962 US Mono and Stereo LP "The Twenty-Fifth Day Of December" on Riverside RLP 3513 (Mono) and RLP 93513 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

16. Let That Liar Alone (1963 US Mono and Stereo LP "This Land" on Riverside RM 3524 (Mono) and RS 93524 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

17. I Can't Help From Cryin' Sometime (1964 US Mono and Stereo LP "This Little Light" on Riverside RM 3527 (Mono) and RS 93527 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

18. Blowin' In The Wind (1963 US Mono and Stereo LP "This Land" on Riverside RM 3524 (Mono) and RS 93524 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

19. This Land Is Your Land (1963 US Mono and Stereo LP "This Land" on Riverside RM 3524 (Mono) and RS 93524 (Stereo) – Stereo Used. A Woody Guthrie cover)

20. I Know I've Been Changed (Recorded 13 June 1963 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

NOTES: Tracks 1 to 6 are MONO, Tracks 7 to 20 are STEREO, Tracks 3 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 3, Black Riverside Label (65:11 minutes):

1. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall (1964 US Mono and Stereo LP "This Little Light" on Riverside RM 3527 (Mono) and RS 93527 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

2. Masters Of War (1964 US Mono and Stereo LP "This Little Light" on Riverside RM 3527 (Mono) and RS 93527 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

3. What Are They Doing (in Heaven Today) (1964 US Mono and Stereo LP "This Little Light" on Riverside RM 3527 (Mono) and RS 93527 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

4. Wish I Had Answered [Live At Newport] (1965 US Stereo LP "Newport Folk Festival 1964 – Evening Concerts Vol.2" on Vanguard VSD-79185)

5. I’ll Fly Away (1964 US 7" single on D-Town 204, A)

6. Tell Him What You Want (1964 US 7" single on D-Town 206, A – Tracks 5 and 6 as The Stapleton Singers)

7. Be Careful Of The Stones You Throw (1965 US LP "Amen" on Epic LN 24132) (Mono) and BN 26123 (Stereo) – Stereo Used)

8. Samson & Delilah (1965 US LP "Freedom Highway" on Epic LN 24163 (Mono) and BN 26163 (Stereo) – Stereo used)

9.As An Eagle Stirreth Her Nest (1965 US LP "Freedom Highway" on Epic LN 24163 (Mono) and BN 26163 (Stereo) – Stereo used)

10. Freedom Highway (Live) (1965 US LP "Freedom Highway" on Epic LN 24163 (Mono) and BN 26163 (Stereo) – Stereo used)

11. Why (Am I Treated So Bad) (May 1967 US 7" single on Epic 5-10158, A – and on the 1966 LP "Why" on Epic LN 24196 (Mono) and BN 26196 (Stereo) – Stereo used)

12. John Brown [Bob Dylan song] (1965 US LP "Freedom Highway" on Epic LN 24163 (Mono) and BN 26163 (Stereo) – Stereo used)

13. Waiting For My Child (1967 US LP "Pray On" on Epic LN 24237 (Mono) and BN 26237 (Stereo) – Stereo used)

14. It’s Been A Change (1967 US LP "Pray On" on Epic LN 24237 (Mono) and BN 26237 (Stereo) – Stereo used)

15. For What It's Worth [Buffalo Springfield cover – Stephen Stills song] (1967 US 7" single on Epic 10220, A – and on the 1971 US 2LP set "The Staple Singers Make You Happy" on Epic EG 30635 (2))

16. Let's Get Together (February 1968 US 7" single on Epic 5-10294, A – and on the 1968 Stereo LP "What The World Needs Now Is Love" on Epic BN 26373)

17. Crying In The Chapel (1968 US 7" single on Epic 5-10339, A – and on the 1968 Stereo LP "What The World Needs Now Is Love" on Epic BN 26373)

18. Long Walk To D.C. (August 1968 US 7" single on Stax STA-0007, A – and on the 1968 US Stereo LP "Soul Folk In Action" on Stax STS-2004)

19. Got To Be Some Changes (December 1968 US 7" single on Stax STA-0019, B-side of "The Ghetto" – and on the 1968 US Stereo LP "Soul Folk In Action" on Stax STS-2004)

20. Slow Train (on the 1968 US Stereo LP "Soul Folk In Action" on Stax STS-2004)

NOTES: All Tracks in STEREO, No Previously Unreleased

Disc 4, Yellow Stax Records Label (79:21 minutes):

1. I See It (on the 1968 US Stereo LP "Soul Folk In Action" on Stax STS-2004)

2. The Ghetto (December 1968 US 7" single on Stax STA-0019, A – and on the 1968 US Stereo LP "Soul Folk In Action" on Stax STS-2004)

3. When Will We Be Paid (October 1969 US 7" single on Stax STA-0052, A – and on the 1969 US Stereo LP "We'll Get Over" on Stax STS-2016)

4. God Bless The Children (June 1970 US 7" single on Stax STA-0074, B-side of "Brand New Day" – and on the 1969 US Stereo LP "We'll Get Over" on Stax STS-2016)

5. The Challenge (June 1969 US 7" single on Stax STA-0039, A – and on the 1969 US Stereo LP "We’ll Get Over" on Stax STS-2016)

6. Brand New Day (Theme From The Motion Picture The Landlord) (August 1970 US 7" single on Stax STA-0074, A (Single Version) – written, produced and featuring Al Kooper)

7. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom) (November 1970 US 7" single on Stax STA-0083, A – and on the 1971 US LP "The Staple Swingers" on Stax STS-2034)

8. I Like The Things About You (from the 1971 US LP "The Staple Swingers" on Stax STS-2034)

9. You’re Gonna Make Me Cry (September 1971 US 7" on Stax STA-0104, B-side of "Respect Yourself" – and from the 1971 US LP "The Staple Swingers" on Stax STS-2034)

10. Respect Yourself (September 1971 US 7" on Stax STA-0104, A – and from the 1972 US LP "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" on Stax STS-3002)

11. I'll Take You There (May 1972 US 7" on Stax STA-0125, A – and from the 1972 US LP "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" on Stax STS-3002)

12. This World (July 1972 US 7" on Stax STA-0137, A – and from the 1972 US LP "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" on Stax STS-3002)

13. I'm Just Another Soldier (May 1972 US 7" on Stax STA-0125, B-side of "I'll Take You There" – and from the 1972 US LP "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" on Stax STS-3002)

14. Are You Sure (July 1972 US 7" on Stax STA-0137, B-side of "This World" – and from the 1972 US LP "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" on Stax STS-3002)

15. If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) (September 1973 US 7" single on Stax STA-0179, A – and from the US LP "Be What You Are" on Stax STS-3015)

16. Touch A Hand, Make A Friend (January 1974 US 7" single on Stax STS-0196, A – and from the US LP "Be What You Are" on Stax STS-3015)

17. Back Road Into Town (July 1975 US 7" single on Stax STN-0248, A – and from the 1974 US LP "City In The Sky" on Stax STS-5515)

18. Let's Do It Again (October 1975 US 7" single on Curtom CMS 0109, A – and from the 1975 US LP "Let's Do It Again" on Curtom CU 5005)

19. The Weight [by The Band featuring The Staple Singers] (from the US 3LP Soundtrack Set to the 1978 movie "The Last Waltz" by The Band on Warner Brothers 3WS 3146)

20. Respect Yourself (Demo) by Mack Rice and Luther Ingram (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

NOTES: All Tracks in STEREO, Track 20 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

PACKAGING and SOUND:

Compiled by JOE McEWEN (Co-Produced by Chris Clough and Ryan Wilson) and with photos from the Epic and Stax Archives – the set certainly looks the part when it arrives – a 56-Page 7" single-sized book with 4CDs in hard-card flaps (each with a beautiful colour album cover repro’d). But once opened – the track page on the rear falls away and doesn’t fit into the package with any ease. Worse – the 4 card flaps holding the individual CDs have their discs rammed into them with a very small and tight lip to remove them from. This requires you grabbing the CD playing surface with your fingers and yanking the disc out – mine arrived with scuffs already and once removed a couple of times – all 4 were covered in scuff marks because the hard card lip won’t allow any other use. It's a staggeringly stupid design flaw and one that can’t be fixed. Worse - I found that Track 20 on Disc 2 – the Previously Unreleased "I Know I've Been Changed" refused to play after only two attempts because the disc got marked. I'm sending mine back – but if you do want to keep your copy – I'd suggest taking the discs out as carefully as possible first time – then placing them in protective white envelopes for CDs which can be easily purchased for not a lot of wedge. Don’t place them back in the slots – they’ll be damaged by extraction and your forty quid won’t be worth jack...

The 7" single is a nice touch visually – but practically you can't take it out either without damaging it so ends up feeling like a picturesque waste of space. Their career has been long and chart-wise dominated by 1968 onwards (their stays at Stax, Curtom and Warner Brothers). But looking at the piddly playing times of Discs 1 to 3 above (especially Disc 1) – it doesn't take a particular genius to work out that this should have been a 5-disc retrospective with each disc crammed with goodies. If you look at the Ace 2CD set I reviewed in 2004 "The Ultimate Collection: A Family Affair 1955-1984" – you can get a great 43-track career retrospective for fewer than fourteen quid and much better Previously Unreleased Tracks (4 absolute corkers). As it stands – "Faith & Grace" offers only a paltry four unreleased out of 80 cuts (none of which do much to enhance) - so this 4CD set feels overpriced and underwhelming from the outset.

The booklet is strangely laid out too. There's no Discography for either singles or LPs – the track-by-track 'annotated' credits boasted about on the sticker only give you a catalogue number but don’t tell you what album is what or whether a single is an A or a B-side (I’ve filled in all the blanks for that above). Not every album is represented in the text nor pictured either and their hugely successful Stax Records period is really only serviced by Disc 4 – when another CD of those albums cuts would have been preferable to the pretty but pointless 7" single. The 1975 recorded "Trippin' On Your Love" (which was only released in 1981 on a Stax LP) – is a huge fan fave and Northern Soul winner – and should be here. Chart singles like "You've Got To Earn It" (1971), "Oh Le De Da" (1972), "City In The Sky" (1974) and "New Orleans" (1976) are not here either. On the upside – at last we get the "Landlord" Soundtrack single – their version of Al Kooper's "Brand New Day" and the Mack Rice/Luther Ingram demo of "Respect Yourself" is interesting in its embryonic state. The live medley on Disc 3 is a full version too and the Dylan track "John Brown" is incredibly powerful – complete with spiffing audio.

The booklet is beautiful - a short 'Forward' by Mavis Staples, Pages 4 to 29 is an essay called "The Gospel Truth" by JAMES MILLER (Original Editor of the Rolling Stone History Of Rock & Roll and the Author of "Flowers In The Dustbin: The Rise Of Rock & Roll 1947-1977"), Pages 30 to 37 is called "The Staple Singers' Early Days" by OPAL LOUIS NATIONS – Author of "The Sensational Nightingales", Producer of the "Legendary Gospel Series" for Fantasy Records and "There Is No Sweeter Sound" Gospel Collections for Sony Music – and a final page called "Hammer And Nails" by compiler JOE McEWEN. There are some fabulous photos of the group at the Wattstax concert in 1972 as well as beautiful full-page colour album photos and key 7" singles. The card flaps feature Stax instrument charts while Page 52 has an August 1971 Stax Records 16-track session sheet for "Respect Yourself" and 4 other tunes. Typo errors – Track 13 on Disc should read "Love Is The Way" and not 'low' while Track 4 on Disc 3 credits the live album "Newport Folk Festival 1964: Evening Concerts Vol. 2" as Vanguard VSD 79183 when it should read VSD 79185.

All that niggling aside - there is (if you’ll forgive the dreadful pun) one saving grace – the extraordinary Audio Quality. This is without doubt the best The Staple Singers have ever sounded – and that includes all phases of their huge career. PAUL BLAKEMORE has done the Audio Mastering – a new name to me – but man oh man – do I want to pat the Paulster on the shoulder and then pin a huge remaster medal to his undoubtedly manly chest. The transfers on "Faith & Grace" are sublime from start to finish. As a lifelong Staples fan – I've been pining for this kind of Remaster for decades – and while Joe Tarantino did a blinder on "Be Altitude" in the Stax Remasters Series – the audio here trounces all that's gone before it. Even something as familiar as "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" from their Stax heyday or the ethereal "Uncloudy Day" from the Fifties – it all sounds fresh – present – and not supressed by any noise damping. The opener "It Rained Children" from 1953 sounds like it was recorded yesterday – that eerie Pops Guitar – Mavis taking Lead – absolutely beautiful – Sam Cooke SACD good. But if I were to isolate one track - it would be the stunning flipside of “Respect Yourself” – the slow and Bluesy "You're Gonna Make Me Cry". I’ve got this forgotten winner at least three times on CD and in each case the hiss levels are right up there – to a point where it begins to impede on the listen. Not here – the real tape has been used – and the power of those stop-start brass jabs combined with crystal clear Soulful Mavis vocals - just nails it. There is air there and analogue warmth – it’s just not as forced or as intrusive. Track after track is like this – bringing beautiful clarity and freshness to every song. Superbly done...and deserved of some kind of Grammy for mastering...

More stunning Audio comes with the 'different nationality' segregation song "Why (Am I Treated So Bad)" where Pops takes Lead Vocals while the family backs him on the 'done nobody wrong' chorus – his guitar and the rhythm full of gorgeous presence and clarity. The first three CDs concentrate on their Gospel Period from 1953 right through to late 1967 touching glorious milestones like “Uncloudy Day” and “Hammer And Nails”. Throughout the audio is fab with only the occasional track showing excessive hiss. By the time you get to the last three songs on Disc 3 – you’ve reached their all-important signing to Stax Records – where for me – the real magic begins. The languid smooch of "Slow Train" is particularly beautiful and stunners like "Are You Sure", "I'll Take You There" and the sexy-lovely Curtis Mayfield collaboration "Let's Do It Again" shines like new. The final two include The Band at "The Last Waltz" concert/film doing a cover of their own "The Weight" with The Staple Singers adding vocal power - finally finishing on a slightly bizarre and misplaced demo of "Respect Yourself" with Mack Rice and Luther Ingram giving it some social conscience (the demo is good but not nearly as potent as the finished article and its a bummer that there's no really decent unreleased tracks from that halcyon period).

To sum up - although its over-priced and a tad underwhelming content-wise - I love the Audio presentation (even if there is way too much Gospel material on Discs 1 to 3), the attached book is magnificent to look at and the liner notes good – but that rather dumb packaging problem is going to mean that people’s CDs start getting damaged very early on – and that needs to be fixed...