"This Is Goldwax 1964-1968" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Features Mono US 45-Singles and CD Compilation Rarities by James Carr, Spencer Wiggins, Percy Milem, Louis Williams, 'Wee' Willie Walker, Gene 'Bowlegs' Miller, Phillip & The Faithfuls, Barbara Perry, O.V. Wright, The Merits, Timmy Thomas, Dorothy Williams, Jeanne Newman, George Jackson & Don Greer and more (August 2024 UK Ace Records/Kent Soul CD Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Goldwax-1964-1968-Various-Artists/dp/B0D9QR8L25?crid=1TQ1EJ5Z5LY3A&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hipKwIN_4iYPjKcLLSMR9A.cZBv9KgIL_XlAm60mvNKLRSXdmvubgzJmM9OJ8Ja4To&dib_tag=se&keywords=029667111225&qid=1726590159&sprefix=029667111225%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=f2b9c8a1323bb2eb7b0fd0bbf586af54&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"…Hiding In Shadows Where We Don't Belong…"

RATING: 

Overall: ****

Presentation: *** to ****

Sound: *** to *****

A joyful release this for end of August 2024 – the USA's Goldwax label being the home of huge faves amongst Mod and Northern Soul nutters – intensity purveyors like James Carr, Spencer Wiggins, O.V. Wright, George Jackson – all of whom Ace has covered in extensive solo CD compilations across the last three decades.

What you get here in this overview of the Goldwax Label is twenty-eight Mono cuts of varying salivation (most are US 45s), and at seventy-minutes-plus, it's a generous dollop of known vs. unknown Sixties R&B. Another clever trick is to pepper the listen with unissued tracks you probably missed on CD compilations of old (see list). Once more unto the bowlegged heartache…

UK released Friday, 30 August 2024 - "This Is Goldwax 1964-1968" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDTOP 530 (Barcode 029667111225) is a 28-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (70:43 minutes):

1. The Dark End Of The Street – JAMES CARR (December 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 317, A-side – a Dan Penn and Chips Moman song)

2. Up Tight Good Woman – SPENCER WIGGINS (April 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 321, A-side – a Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham song)

3. To Me It's Storming – GEORGE & GREER (a James Carr and Spencer Wiggins duet under pseudonyms – an Original Unissued Recording first UK issued 27 April 2009 on "Goldwax Northern Soul" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 313 (Barcode 029667231329)

4. Call On Me – PERCY MILEM (December 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 315, B-side of "Crying Baby Baby Baby" – a George Jackson song)

5. I'm Living Good – THE OVATIONS featuring LOUIS WILLIAMS (August 1965 US 45 on Goldwax GW-117, A-side – a Dan Penn and Oldham song)

6. I Don't Want To Take A Chance - 'WEE' WILLIE WALKER (Original Unissued 1966 Recording, a George Jackson song, first UK released 2 February 2004 on "The Goldwax Story Volume 2" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 225 (Barcode 029667222525)

7. Toddlin' – GENE 'Bowlegs' MILLER (December 1964 US 56 on Goldwax 117, B-side of "Bow-Legged")

8. Freedom Train – JAMES CARR (October 1968 US 45 on Goldwax 338, A-side)

9. I'm A Poor Man's Son – SPENCER WIGGINS (February 1968 US 45 on Goldwax 333, B-side of "That's How Much I Love You" – was issued 1970 in the UK as the A-side to Pama PM 794 – his second and last 45 there)

10. Ticket To Ride - 'WEE' WILLIE WALKER (August 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 329, A-side – a Beatles cover version)

11. What'cha Gonna Do – PHILLIP And THE FAITHFULS (featuring Phillip Reynolds and Timmy Thomas (of "Why Can't We Live Together" fame) – an Original Unissued Recording first UK released 27 April 2009 on "Goldwax Northern Soul" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 313 (Barcode 029667231329) – was also issued March 2010 in the UK as a 45-single on Kent Select CITY 014, A-side)

12. Say You Need It – BARBARA PERRY (January 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 318, A-side)

13. When You Look In The Mirror – EDDIE JEFFERSON (December 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 316, A-side)

14. That's How Strong My Love Is – O.V. WRIGHT (June 1964 US 45 on Goldwax 106, B-side of "There Goes My Used To Be")

15. Love Attack – GEORGE and GREER (George Jackson and Dan Greer – original 1960s recording first issued 26 January 2015 on the UK CD compilation "At Goldwax" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 428 – Barcode 029667242820)

16. Once In A While (Is Better Than Never At All) – SPENCER WIGGINS (November 1968 US 45 on Goldwax 337, A-side)

17. A Man Needs A Woman – JAMES CARR (December 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 332, A-side – Obie McClinton song – see Track 18)

18. They Say – THE OVATIONS (October 1966 US 45 on Goldwax 314, B-side of "Me And My Imagination" – an Obie McClinton song)

19. A Lucky Loser - 'WEE' WILLIE WALKER (November 1968 US 45 on Checker 1211, A-side – Allen Jones and Homer Banks song)

20. Arabian Jerk – THE MERITS (February 1965 US 45 on Bandstand USA 1002, A-side)

21. Have Some Boogaloo – TIMMY THOMAS (March 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 320, A-side)

22. The Well's Gone Dry – DOROTHY WILLIAMS (June 1965 US 45 on Goldwax 115, B-side of "Country Style")

23. Spoonful – THE PLAYBOY FIVE (October 1964 US 45 on Bandstand USA 1001, A-side – Willie Dixon song, Howlin Wolf cover)

24. I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me) – PERCY MILEM (August 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 326, A-side)

25. A Man Is A Mean Thing – BARBARA PERRY (Originally unissued recording first released February 2008 on the UK CD compilation "New Breed R&B with Added Popcorn: Early 60s R&B Dancers Right in Today's Groove" on Ace/Kent Dance CDKEND 291 – Barcode 029667229128)

26. Will I Ever Be Free – JEB STEWART (1965 US 45 on Bingo 1001, A-side)

27. She's Better Than You – OBOE with THE KEYS (1964 US 45 on Goldwax 104, B-side of "Too Slow" – an Obie McClinton song)

28. He Called Me Baby – JEANNE NEWMAN (October 1967 US 45 on Goldwax 331, A-side)

The 16-page booklet has typically packed liner notes from the hugely knowledgeable DEAN RUDLAND – but it foregoes Ace's usual song-by-song paragraphs for one long block of text instead – and I think that's a mistake. The former method allows you to locate the in-depth info quickly (Tracks are numbered, pictures correspond) – this way you must wade through the blocks of text (Rudland discusses the songs (roughly) in appearance order) making it hard to find the song info you want. Apart from four lovely full-page promo photos of O.V. Wright, Willie Walker, Timmy Thomas and Barbara Perry (rear page) – the rest of the text is peppered with small US 45-single repro labels but it somehow feels like a lot less than we are usually used to. Audio comes by way of NICK ROBBINS – a Remaster Engineer Ace have been using for probably more than three decades. This guy knows his way around a tape box and it shows. All the MONO stabs at moochers and dancers sound punchy and alive. To the tunes…

The underlying current/theme is that much of the listen was Produced by the dynamic duo of Quinton Claunch and Rudolph Russell with many of the tunes provided by Obie McClinton. Moochers sit beside Dancers and it opens with the balls-to-the-wall Southern Soul classic "The Dark End Of The Street" by James Carr – one the Memphis label’s truly great moments. The second funerial organ-grinder that comes-at-ya is Spencer Wiggins looking for a mighty good lady with two loving arms to keep him safe - "Uptight Good Woman" shuffling out of your speakers like James Brown leaving the stage in stop-start pain. Things soon liven however with a genius inclusion – the fabulous shuffle-New-Breed-dancer "To Me It's Storming" by  George and Greer. The first of six unreleased tracks that appeared on previous CD compilations - it's a cracker and hard to believe it was canned back in the day. 

Very Otis Redding meets Wilson Pickett – the pace increases with the kicking Midnight Hour vibe of "Call On Me" – Percy Milem giving it some 1966 shimmy while the girls go mm-hm in the background. You might be a betting man, but you are going to lose money when you swear to all and sundry that as Louis Williams sings with his group The Ovations – that it is Sam Cooke. The similarity is staggering – his gorgeous tone and phrasing – even the RCA beat to Sam’s Soul-Pop outings – you must look again at the back inlay to see it says Louis Williams and not Sam Cooke (Williams crops again on Track 18). Another CD compilation unreleased winner comes in the smooth "I Don't Want To Take A Chance" - but for me it's whomped by the fantastic and infectious Brass Instrumental "Toddlin'" from Gene Miller of 'Bowlegs' fame – his shuffler having a very Mar-Keys "Last Night" party joy about it.

Things start to reflect the politics raging all about them – the frantic "Freedom Train" by James Carr channelling his inner Otis Redding – his vocals straining with real emotion – getting it together – taking it to the man – taking it no more. Unfortunately for me Tracks 9 and 10 see things slide – a lame Spencer Wiggins dancer followed by a funked-up cover of The Beatles classic "Ticket To Ride" by Willie Walker. Northern Soul fans have long lusted after the great shuffler vibe in "What'cha Gonna Do" by Phillip and The Faithfuls featuring Phillip Reynolds and a pre-1973 "Why Can't We Live Together" fame Timmy Thomas. To satisfy demand, Ace Records of the UK even gave it a 45-release on their Kent Select label in March 2010 with The Additions doing "Until The End Of Time" on the flip-side. Gorgeous production values on the loving-bopper "Say You Need It" – Barbara Perry ably supported by baby-baby backing singers. Things go back to mooch with the brass-and-guitar-flicking shuffler "When You Look In The Mirror" – Eddie Jefferson getting his aching moment.

Fans of hug-your-baby Soul will know O.V. Wright getting all deep on "That's How Strong My Love Is" – his great pipes elevating an often-repeated pacer into Redding-like greatness. Demo quality comes at you with George & Greer doing "Love Attack" but the lame lyrics do its vocal passion no favours. Far better is the Spencer Wiggins wailer where our Spence passes by her house and sees that her used-ta-be is gone - so The Wig suggests from a payphone that "Once Is A While (Is Better Than Never At All)". The slow set continues with a classic - "A Man Needs A Woman" - James Carr telling us that windows need paint and highways need two lanes and a man needs… Finally, things pick up pace with The Ovations fronted by the mighty pipes of Louis Williams giving it some Motown meets Sam Cooke bop in their "They Say". Blues meets with Soul in an Albert King-stylee for the excellent "A Lucky Loser" – Willie Walker not in the least bit wee as gets stuck in. But again a drop with the gimmicky "Arabian Jerk" – fast forward button. 

On the homeward stretch we get a cha-cha organ-dancer - "Have Some Boogaloo" by Timmy Thomas has our giddy-soul shouting encouragements and jokes throughout the hipshaker – cool tune. But much better is Dorothy Williams telling her man he can't get rain from a cloudless sky in her nerk-jerking dancer "The Well's Gone Dry" – itself followed by a rather cool organ-shuffler where The Playboy Five do an early instrumental cover version of the Chess Records Howlin Wolf classic "Spoonful". Things slow when Percy Milem bemoans the lady who parties all the time while he moans in the shadows - but the man is obsessed – he'd leave her if he could in "I Don't Know What You've Got (But It's Got Me)". 

Back to boppers that tick - "A Man Is A Mean Thing" by Barbara Perry was one of eight Previously Unreleased cuts on the 2008 Ace/Kent Dance CD compilation "New Breed R&B with Added Popcorn: Early 60s R&B Dancers Right in Today's Groove" – itself one of seven comps in the hugely popular New Breed Series. Barbara provides a cool one and I'm sure some DJ will dig this gem with its great Guitar and Sax solos as the band goes all Ike Turner on the shimmy. The last three feel tagged on – Jeanne Newman being the cream of the trio – a sort of female Tony Joe White groove with fab production – "He Called Me Baby" is definitely a tune that's turning up on a cool period-conscious TV episode near you someday real soon.

Not quite 5-stars but with enough to satisfy my Soul-cravings – and as ever – another classy release from Ace Records of the UK. Recommended...

PS: There is also a UK 2LP VINYL variant issued 6 September 2024 as "This Is Goldwax 1964-1968" on Ace/Kent Soul KENT2 530 (Barcode 029667027319). It contains all 28-songs of the CD compilation (7 tracks per side) and is a Limited Edition.

"Dixie Chicken" by LITTLE FEAT – January 1973 US 3rd Studio Album on Warner Brothers (March 1973 in the UK) featuring Lowell George and Paul Barrere (Guitars and Lead Vocals), Bill Payne (Keyboards and Vocals), Kenny Gradney (Bass), Sam Clayton (Congas) and Richard Hayward (Drums and Vocals) with Guests Bonnie Bramlett, Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Jones, Stephanie Spurville, Debbie Lindsey, Trett Fure and Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night (Backing Singers), Milt Holland on Tablas, Malcolm Cecil of Tonto's Expanding Head Band on Synths and Fred Tackett (joined the band later) on Acoustic Guitar (June 2023 UK/EU Warner Records/Rhino 2CD Deluxe Edition with a New Remaster of the Album on CD1 and 16-Bonuses on CD2 – 12 of which are Previously Unreleased and the Remaining Four Period Rarities Previously Issued in 2000 and 2002 – Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dixie-Chicken-Deluxe-Little-Feat/dp/B0C3GL8BVT?crid=3TA1QQO1Z3LJJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Mkrd2nuPQjWSrnHJvtZPWw.L_NAQFSbe_3FKRo73PC-ys9vNnT1JbNRTl9fSNFgo48&dib_tag=se&keywords=603497837465&qid=1725267724&sprefix=603497837465%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=b92095b1ddbde3d643a82ebef64394f7&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Presentation: *****

Remasters: *****

Extras: ****

Overall Rating: ****

"…And All The Boys There At The Bar…Began To Sing Along…"

Ever since "Dixie Chicken" appeared on digital as far back as 1987 (the American Funk-Rock band's third studio platter from early 1973 on Warner Brothers Records) - it has always felt like a sonic compromise.

The February 2014 Clamshell Box Set "Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971 to 1990" with its tasty 13CDs in Mini LP Artwork offered a decent version. But fans who had been treated to real Rhino Remasters on the "Hotcakes & Outtakes..." 4CD Book Set from September 2000 (a full fourteen years earlier) knew there was room for better.

Well, at last, in June 2023, following on from the wonderful 2CD Deluxe Edition given to "Sailin' Shoes" in 2022 (50th Anniversary Version for their 1972 second platter) - we get the Remaster and market-accessible 2CD Deluxe Edition for their cracking third studio album "Dixie Chicken". The whole album has been upgraded audio-wise and finally boasting the sprinkle 'n spunk it has always deserved - and with very cool previously unreleased Alternate Versions on CD2 and an April 1973 US Radio Show that sees the six-piece band on fire - even if the audio is honestly only just above bootleg quality. 

I do want to be your Dixie Chicken and I long for your Tennessee Lamb. Lots to discuss, to the details…

UK/EU released 23 June 2023 - "Dixie Chicken" by LITTLE FEAT on Warner Records/Rhino R2 695370 – 603497837465 (Barcode 603497837465) is a 2CD Deluxe Edition Reissue and Remaster that plays out as follows:

CD1 "Dixie Chicken – 2023 Remaster" (36:39 minutes):
1. Dixie Chicken [Side 1]
2. Two Trains
3. Roll Um Easy
4. On Your Way Down
5. Kiss It Off
6. Fool Yourself [Side 2]
7. Walkin' All Night
8. Fat Man In The Bathtub
9. Juliette
10. Lafayette Railroad
Tracks 1 to 10 are their third studio album "Dixie Chicken" – released 25 January 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS-2686 and March 1973 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46200. Initially, British pressed LPs came in US artwork (BS-2686) with UK Catalogue Number Stickers pasted on the rear) and Green/Tan labels (reissued February 1975 in the UK on K 46200 but with a Burbank Label design without the Warner Bros Corp. logo). Produced by LOWELL GEORGE – did not chart in either country. 

LITTLE FEAT was:
LOWELL GEORGE – Guitars, Lead Vocals, Flute and Cowbells
PAUL BARRERE – Guitars and Lead Vocals
BILL PAYNE – Keyboards, Synths and Vocals
KENNY GRADNEY – Bass
SAM CLAYTON – Congas
RICHARD HAYWARD – Drums and Vocals

Guests:
Bonnie Bramlett, Debbie Lindsey, Trett Fure, Gloria Jones, Stephanie Spurville and Bonnie Raitt sang Backing Vocals
Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night sang Backing Vocals on "Roll Um Easy"
Milt Holland on Tablas
Malcolm Cecil of Tonto’s Expanding Head Band played and programmed Synths
Fred Tackett (later to join Little Feat) played Acoustic Guitar

CD2 "Hotcakes, Outtakes & Rarities" (68:55 minutes):
1. Two Trains (Demo)
2. Fat Man In The Bathtub (Demo)
3. Walkin' All Night (Alternate Version)
4. Roll Um Easy (Alternate Version)
5. On Your Way Down (Alternate Version)
6. Eldorado Slim
7. Juliette (Alternate Version)
8. Hi Roller (Ace In The Hole)
9. Dixie Chicken (Alternate Version)

ICEPICK ELDORADO:
Live at Paul's Mall, Boston, Massachusetts, 1 April 1973
10. Two Trains
11. Got No Shadow
12. On Your Way Down 
13. Walkin' All Night
14. Fat Man In The Bathtub
15. Willin'
16. A Apolitical Blues
NOTES on CD2:
Tracks 1, 6 and 8 originally issued September 2000 on the 4CD US and UK Book Set Compilation "Hotcakes & Outtakes" on Rhino/Warner Archives R2 79912
Track 2 is a 1972 Demo originally issued June 2002 in the USA on the 2CD Compilation "Raw Tomatos Vol One (Raw Recordings 1971-2001)" on Hot Tomato Records HTR 0203
Tracks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 to 16 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED. Tracks 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 are outtakes from the "Dixie Chicken" sessions Recorded and Produced by Lowell George between October and December 1972 while Tracks 10 to 16 were recorded 1st of April 1973 for WBCN-FM in Boston – band was Lowell George, Bill Payne, Paul Barrere, Kenny Gradney, Sam Clayton, and Richie Hayward

With reputedly less than 60,000 LP sales in their native USA after its release in late January 1973 (their third studio flop, but first to gain that LF trademark Funk-Rock sound) – it appears the British side of Warner Brothers who put the "Dixie Chicken" LP out in March 1973 with little or no fanfare (US sleeves with British-pressed LPs) – didn't even bother trying an album teaser 45. In fact, Little Feat's first Blighty 45-single would only arrive in 1975 after August 1974's album number four - "Feats Don't Fail Me Now". In a back-dating exercise, Warners loaded up "Dixie Chicken" from 1973 on the A-side with a 1974 "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" song "Oh Atlanta" on the flip-side and put out Warner Brothers K 16524 on 28 February 1975. Perhaps the singalong nature of "Dixie Chicken" and the UK tour that saw Little Feat shine The Doobie Brothers off stage every night felt like a good time to plug the band in Britain - but again to little or no chart avail. 'Live' Little Feat were groundbreaking and unbeatable, 'studio-wise', punters were still struggling to get it. 

The 24-page booklet with a fantastically in-depth info-fest on 1972, the album's making, the post-1973 reception and aftermath is handled by DENNIS McNALLY. McNally quite rightly surmises that despite commercial failure everywhere it seems - "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" was so much more legacy-wise - because it signalled that Little Feat had found their sound – their groove as he puts it – a pre-Talking Heads Funky-Rock chug that persists to this day here in late 2024. 

Four full-page promo photos of the six-piece band pepper the text and card digipak while a further discussion takes place on Page 15 regarding Neon Parks and his signature LP artwork (the original painting used is on Page 16). Apparently, a working girl who was having it off with the band's Road Manager Ducka in an apartment just off Sunset where they were staying, was about to make too much noise during proceedings, so an Accordion was brought in to drown out the decibels – and such was a cover born. The lady is referred to as Linda and apparently the likeness is uncanny while her bracelets on both wrists in the painting may also have indicated something else used during the gigglesome rumpy-pumpy, but I'll let your imagination work that one out. From Pages 17 to 22 we get lyrics and full credits and the final rear page is a Master Tape box. 24-pages of sweetness and curated by people who care. 

DAN HERSCH and BILL INGLOT have been Remastering Warner Brothers, Atlantic and Elektra mastertapes for Rhino since before 1990 – over 35-years of Audio Transfer experience between them and straight up from Track 1 – you can hear it. The Bass, Slide Guitar, Piano plinking and Southern Belle slink-lyrics that open "Dixie Chicken" – the impact is fantastic. Give this even the slightest welly and the neighbours will be asking for an invite to the singalong party. Dig those ladies (Bonnie Bramlett and Bonnie Raitt walking together in Dixieland) but the credits still don’t advise who is playing the Harmonica. The Funk-Rock continues with another total winner – the Lowell George penned "Two Trains" – check out that great down-sliding guitar moment about 1:33 minutes in – oh so damn good (he would return to this song for his solo album in 1979 "Thanks, I'll Eat It Here" with even more what-it-is Funky results). As if the opening two weren't enough to secure the album's arrival, the gorgeous elegant-profanity ballad "Roll Um Easy" whomps with both melody and crystal-clear audio that is going to thrill newcomers. The liner notes advise that Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night had just come off tour and his voice was shredded – but George had him do the backing vocal anyway on "Roll Um Easy" precisely because of his ragged rasp. 

A huge slow keyboard-driven Funk then shuffles into your living room – sunrise and sunset – people flying high across town – Little Feat smartly covering an Allen Toussaint song "On Your Way Down". Meet up with those dudes as your whole being heads South. That guitar solo at about 2:40 minutes now has the power it has always craved – love "On Your Way Down" to bits and its very Dr. John voodoo-ambience is surely one of the greatest unsung cover versions ever in Rock (Toussaint would eventually tour with Little Feat as an opening act in the mid to late Seventies). Side 1 ends with one I'm sure fans return to as a deep album cut – the sinister milk-toasted ain't-no-peace synths of "Kiss it Off" programmed by Malcolm Cecil of Tonto's Expanding Head Band – a man that defined the Funk Sound on Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions" and "Fulfillingness' First Finale" in 1973 and 1974.

Side 2 goes more optimistic with its opener "Kiss It Off" – a song inspired by a photo of a 17-year-old Olivia Hussey in the film "Romeo And Juliet" – future bandmate Fred Tackett thought her angelic innocence so displayed in the photograph would not be long changing – hence the opening lyrics. Gorgeous audio too. Bill Payne takes Lead Vocals on "Walkin' All Night" alongside Paul Barrere – an obvious saucy love-letter to a side-street swinger that has both young men aeriated in all areas. There then follows a huge Feat fave amongst fans – the Lowell George self-deprecation anthem "Fat Man In The Bathtub" (look out Juanita). The Feat goes ever so slightly Prog and even Psych amidst the Funk with "Juliette" – George proving himself a deft-hand on Flute too. The album kind of peters out with the instrumental slink of "Lafayette Railroad" – a song you feel could have done with more work and even some cool lyrics. But at is – the bulk of "Dixie Chicken" has already woven its way into your heart. 

CD2 opens with two demos that first appeared in September 2000 on the stunning "Hotcakes & Outtakes..." 4CD Book Set - "Dixie Chicken" and "Two Trains". Sort of an audio set up with the good stuff first (to appease the iffy sounding live stuff later) – they make for a cool starter. Even stripped of instruments, the very basic beat-box Demo of "Dixie Chicken" has that killer melody aligned with those witty and knowing lyrics – so it was a winner even in embryo form. But then the real meat and potatoes pop up – five Alternate Versions sided by the outtakes "Eldorado Slim" and "Hi Roller (Ace In The Hole)". The "Roll Um Easy" outtake plays to 2:36 minutes and is lovely but missing the album polish – those guitar add-ons that lifted it up to where it needed to be. Not for the first time on CD2 does the Allen Toussaint cover version offer up Little Feat at their storming Funky-Rock best – the "On Your Way Down" Alternate Version runs to 5:56 minutes while the Live Cut might as well have been written for them – albeit let down by OK-sound. The Alternate of "Dixie Chicken" is very good but you can tell it’s a work-in-progress – again like "Roll Um Easy" needing those extra embellishments the final album version gave this great song. 

The Live Set is clearly in front of a small but highly enthusiastic audience and while the band are cooking – wowing them with hip-swaying Funk-Rock and not just heavy riffage – it is clear why this was not used before – the audio is a notch above bootleg – and in some passages – a notch or two below it. But even with compromised at times muddy audio – when they switch from "Got No Shadow" to "On Your Way Down" – I swear I can hear the audience and their palpable excitement at this new sound – a Rock Band with Funk and Wit and players firing on newly found all-sixes. The acoustic "Willin'" is lovely, but it ends on the odd stop-start syncopation of "A Apolitical Blues". CD2 is fab and disappointing at one and the same time, but you also feel that this is a great band emerging from the shadows and some lucky buggers were there in the mall in April 1973 to hear it. 

14 June 2024 saw the 3CD Deluxe Edition of album number four from 1974 - "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" – and again to huge acclaim. 2025 will undoubtedly see "The Last Record Album" from 1975 receive a similar 50th Anniversary blast and "Time Loves A Hero" from 1977 get one too in 2027. Alongside the magnificent "Waiting For Columbus" live box set of 2022 with its 8CDs of primo Little Feat on tour – you have to say that Rhino and Warner Brothers are keeping the faithful happy and their bank accounts worried. 

Would we want it any other way – Brill and then some. Recommended…

"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

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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...