Soulsville U.S.A. A Celebration of Stax

As we’ve written about over the last couple of months, 2017 is the 60th anniversary of the legendary Memphis-based label Stax Records. As part of the year-long celebration of all things Stax-related, the good folks at Concord Music Group and Rhino Entertainment have been collaborating on some essential soul releases, but probably none as cool as this one...

On September 22nd, 2017 the two labels will add points to their cosmic karma with the release of Soulsville U.S.A.: A Celebration of Stax. A three-CD collection featuring a liver-quivering 60 tracks in total, the set spans the early 1960s through the mid-‘70s and features music from such soul legends as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T & the M.G.’s, Carla Thomas, the Dramatics, William Bell, the Staple Singers, and Sam & Dave, among many others. The collection also includes new liner notes by journalist Jeff Slate.

An update, of sorts, to the best-selling Stax 50: A 50th Anniversary Celebration box set that has sold better than 100,000 copies since its 2007 release, Soulsville U.S.A.: A Celebration of Stax ups the ante by including rare tracks by lesser-known (tho’ no less talented) Stax label artists like Mable John, Little Milton, and the Soul Children alongside hits from folks like Rufus Thomas (“Walking the Dog”), Eddie Floyd (“Knock On Wood”), Jean Knight (“Mr. Big Stuff”), and Shirley Brown (“Woman To Woman”) as well as the aforementioned label stars. Check out the complete track listing for Soulsville U.S.A.: A Celebration of Stax below and you’ll agree that this is some of the best soul music every made!

Disc 1
1. The Veltones - Fool In Love
2. Carla Thomas - Gee Whiz
3. The Mar-Keys - Last Night
4. William Bell - You Don't Miss Your Water
5. Booker T. & the MG's - Green Onions
6. Rufus Thomas - Walking The Dog
7. Wendy Rene - After Laughter (Comes Tears)
8. Otis Redding - I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)
9. The Astors - Candy
10. Sam & Dave - You Don't Know Like I Know
11. The Mad Lads - Don't Have To Shop Around
12. Carla Thomas - Let Me Be Good To You
13. Mable John - Your Good Thing (Is About To End)
14. Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood
15. Sam & Dave - Hold On! I'm Comin'
16. Otis Redding - Try A Little Tenderness
17. Carla Thomas - B-A-B-Y
18. Booker T. & the MG's - Hip Hug-Her
19. The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger
20. Otis & Carla - Tramp

Disc 2
1. Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign
2. Sam & Dave - Soul Man
3. Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
4. Eddie Floyd - Big Bird
5. Ollie & The Nightingales - I Got A Sure Thing
6. Booker T. & the MG's - Soul Limbo
7. Linda Lyndell - What A Man
8. Judy Clay & William Bell - Private Number
9. Eddie Floyd - I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)
10. The Staple Singers - The Weight
11. Johnnie Taylor - Who's Making Love
12. Carla Thomas - I Like What You're Doing (To Me)
13. William Bell - I Forgot To Be Your Love)
14. Booker T. & the MG's - Time Is Tight
15. Rufus Thomas - Do The Funky Chicken
16. The Emotions - So I Can Love You
17. Isaac Hayes - Walk On By
18. Johnnie Taylor & Carla Thomas - Just Keep On Loving Me
19. The Staple Singers - Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)
20. Rufus Thomas - (Do The) Push And Pull (Part. 1)

Disc 3
1. Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff
2. Johnnie Taylor - Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone
3. Isaac Hayes - Never Can Say Goodbye
4. The Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get
5. The Staple Singers - Respect Yourself
6. Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft
7. The Bar-Kays - Son Of Shaft
8. Little Milton - That's What Love Will Make You Do
9. The Soul Children - Hearsay
10. The Dramatics - In The Rain
11. Isaac Hayes - Do Your Thing
12. Frederick Knight - I've Been Lonely For So Long
13. The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There
14. Mel & Tim - Starting All Over Again
15. Temprees - Dedicated To The One I Love
16. The Dramatics - Hey You! Get Off My Mountain
17. Johnnie Taylor - Cheaper To Keep Her
18. The Staple Singers - If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)
19. The Soul Children - I'll Be The Other Woman
20. Shirley Brown - Woman To Woman

Also on That Devil Music.com:
Sam & Dave - Stax Classics CD review
Carla Thomas - Stax Classics CD review
Otis Redding - Live At the Whiskey A Go Go CD review 

Buy the box set from Amazon.com: Soulsville U.S.A.: A Celebration of Stax

CD Review: Sam & Dave's Stax Classics (2017)

The duo of Sam & Dave stood out even amidst a stable of talent as diverse and legendary as that blessed upon Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. The legendary R&B duo of Sam Moore and Dave Prater performed together for two decades, from 1961 to 1981, delivering a string of hits that were influential far beyond their chart success. The pair struggled through their early days, and couldn’t buy a hit until they were signed to Atlantic Records by producer and A&R man Jerry Wexler. Sensing their potential, Wexler sent them to Memphis to record for the Stax label, which was distributed by Atlantic at the time.

Wexler’s largesse was pure genius. While at Stax Records, Sam & Dave largely performed material penned by the in-house songwriting team of Dave Porter and Isaac Hayes. This partnership would result in ten consecutive Top 20 R&B chart singles and three Top 10 albums for Sam & Dave, as well as lucrative “crossover” success as the duo made thirteen straight appearances on the pop chart as well as two Top 10 singles. They also helped popularize soul music with white audiences and, in doing so, created an indelible musical legacy that persists to this day. Sam & Dave songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as ZZ Top, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, and the Temptations, among many others.

Sam & Dave’s Stax Classics

As part of Stax Records’ 60th anniversary celebration, the label is revisiting its legendary hitmakers with new CD/LP/digital collections under the Stax Classics banner. Sam & Dave’s Stax Classics opens, appropriately, with the pair’s first Top 20 pop hit, 1966’s “Hold On! I’m Comin’,” which was also their first R&B chart-topper for the Memphis label. With deliciously rowdy vocals soaring above deep rhythms, it’s the ‘go to’ song for many Sam & Dave fans. Better known, perhaps, is their enduring signature song, 1967’s “Soul Man,” also written by Hayes and Porter and featuring an infectious, sing-a-long chorus, brassy horns, and some funky pickin’ by Col. Steve Cropper. Their second chart-topping R&B hit, “Soul Man” narrowly missed dominating the pop world as well, peaking at a respectable #2 on the pop chart. The last of the duo’s trio of larger-than-life hits, 1968’s “I Thank You” evinces a sly funky groove that would subsequently inspire everybody from George Clinton to Sly Stone in the years to follow. “I Thank You” was also a Top 10 pop hit would peak at #4 on the R&B chart.

There’s more to Sam & Dave than those three hits, however, some of the best of which is showcased on Stax Classics. Their cover of Sam Cooke’s “Soothe Me” breathes new life into an obscure track with an enchanting performance that succeeded artistically if not commercially (it was only a modest hit). Sandwiched in between their big hits, 1965’s “You Don’t Know Like I Know” offers a uniquely Sam & Dave spin on what could have been a Motown hit while the soul classic “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down” is provided a bluesy, almost gospel fervor that would later inspire Elvis Costello to cover the song. With a loping groove, piano tinkling, and a heavy bass line, “You Got Me Hummin’” juxtaposes the two singer’s voices against each other to great effect as the horns punctuate the song’s mesmerizing rhythm. The album-closing “I Take What I Want” mimics the Ray Charles’ hit “I Don’t Need No Doctor” with its strident rhythms but Sam & Dave take it up a notch with a subtle albeit strong vocal performance dancing atop a surging guitar riff.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

There have been a lot of variations on a Sam & Dave “greatest hits” compilation released through the years, including 2009’s sixteen-track The Very Best of Sam & Dave album and the one that the Reverend originally bought back in the day, 1981’s twenty-one track The Best of Sam & Dave, both of which are still available if you look hard enough. The budget-priced Stax Classics does a fine job of distilling the duo’s immense legacy to a lean ‘n’ mean twelve tracks, however, offering crystalline remastered sound and fresh, informative liner notes for both the newcomer and longtime fan. This is soul music at its very best, excellently performed by the legendary duo of Sam & Dave. Grade: A (Stax Records/Rhino Records, released May 19, 2017)