Stax - a compilation (@256)

With the usual two month lag, this is a compilation celebrating the 50th anniversary of Stax, a record company that for almost fifteen years was totally interwoven with the cultural identity of the black community; the other leg of Stax's importance being of course its colossal contribution in what we call soul music.

In particular, during the 60's, Stax created the so-called "Memphis Soul", which was a rough and edgy version of soul, both in sound and lyrics, and totally different from the slightly manufactured sound of Motown which presented the pop side of the 60's soul. On the turn of the 60's the Stax sound evolved in more complicated compositions and orchestrations (with the most distinctive example being the lp "Hot Buttered Soul" by Isaac Hayes) as well as in more melodic tunes (following the 70's Philly sound) but also in a Black-Power call up.

Stax Essentials: (reference: Thanasis Minas article "50 Years of Memphis Soul" in Jazz&Jazz magazine issue 10/2007 p. 26-29)

Albums:

Booker T & the MGs - Green Onions (1962)

Rufus Thomas - Walking The Dog (1964)

Otis Redding - Otis Blue (1965)

Sam & Dave - Hold On I'm Comin' (1966)

Carla Thomas - Carla (1966)

Bar-Kays - Soul Finger (1967)

Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood (1967)

Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign (1967)

Otis Redding - The Dock Of The Bay (1968)

Johnnie Taylor - Who's Making Love (1968)

Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul (1969)

John Lee Hooker - That's Where It's At! (1969)

Isaac Hayes - Black Moses (1971)

Booker T. & the MGs - Melting Pot (1971)

Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff (1971)

Albert King - I'll Play The Blues For You (1972)

Frederick Knight - I've Been Lonely For So Long (1972)

Staple Singers - Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (1972)

Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get (1972)

Millie Jackson - Caught Up/ Still Caught Up (1974-75)

24-Carat Black - Ghetto: Misfortune & Wealth (1975)

Compilations:

The Complete Stax/ Volt Singles, Vol.1: 1959-1968 (9 cd box set with all the singles and b-sides of the first period, a total of 244 tracks)

The Complete Stax/ Volt Singles, Vol.1: 1968-1971 (9 cd box set with all the singles and b-sides of the second period, a total of 216 tracks)

Wattstax - The Special Edition (2003 enhanced edition. 3 cds with live recordings from the s/t festival of 1972)

Soundtracks
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song - Melvin Van Peebles (1971)

Shaft - Isaac Hayes (1971)

As for the following compilation, you have to excuse me but (a) I didn't follow any chronological order; I've chosen a rather "sound waving" sequence and (b) I deliberately excluded songs which I've heard more than a thousand times (without which I know that this compilation is regarded incomplete), which means... no Soul Man, no Green Onions, no Time Is Tight (which by the way you can find in the compilation Songs We Taught The Clash posted some months ago in this blog), no Knock On Wood, no Do The Funky Chicken, no Hold On I'm Comin'. Ok there are some Otis songs which I've heard more than a thousand times... but Otis' songs have to pass the limit of 10,000 to be excluded...

Tracklisting

part 1

01 Jesse Jackson - Introduction to Wattstax (live in Wattstax)

02 Kim Weston - Lift Every Voice And Sing (live in Wattstax)

03 Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)

04 Stax's Golden 13 - Old Time Religion (live in Wattstax)

05 Otis Redding - These Arms Of Mine

06 William Bell - A Tribute To A King

07 Bar-Kays - Soul Finger

08 Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get

09 Isaac Hayes - By The Time I Get To Phoenix

10 Staple Singers - When Will Be Paid

11 Rufus Thomas - Walking The Dog

12 Sam & Dave - When Something Is Wrong With My Baby

13 Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff

14 Little Milton - That's What Love Will Make You Do

part 2

15 Mar-Keys - Last Night

16 Shirley Brown - Woman To Woman

17 Mel & Tim - Starting All Over Again

18 Otis Redding - Respect

19 Booker T. & the M.G.'s - It's Your Thing

20 Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft (live in Wattstax)

21 Dramatics - Get Up & Get Down

22 Rufus Thomas - Itch And Scratch (part 1)

23 Johnnie Taylor - Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone (live in Wattstax)

24 Staple Singers - Respect Yourself

25 Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness

26 Linda Lyndell - What A Man

27 Roy Lee Johnson & The Villagers - The Dryer Part 1

28 Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign

29 Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

30 Isaac Hayes - Soulsville

31 Sons Of Slum - What Goes Around (Must Come Around)

part 3 - with a video

32 Johnnie Taylor - Who's Making Love

33 Inez Foxx - Circuits Overloaded

34 Bar-Kays - Son Of Shaft (live in Wattstax) (video)

download link pt1: here (link removed due to a relevant request)

download link pt2: here (link removed due to a relevant request)

download link pt3: here (link removed due to a relevant request)

links:

wikipedia, History of Stax, Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story

further reading: Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story Of Stax Records - Rob Bowman