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Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration: Album Review
Written by Michelle Cavanaugh   

R&B Soul reviews Celebrating fifty years of extraordinary music, Stax Records releases a collection of classic tracks and rarities from R&B’s most notorious artists. 

Founders Jim Stewart and sister Estelle Axton started the label in Memphis -- the blues capital of the world. By and by, Stax ignored all racial barriers and signed some of the most talented R&B artists of the time.

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From Otis Redding to Carla Thomas to Booker T. & The MG’s to Albert King to Johnnie Taylor to Isaac Hayes, there is one common signature sound recognizable of all Stax musicians. The McLemore movie theater was converted into the home and recording studio of Stax Records and with its sloping ceilings and bare floors, the slight-echo, “live” sound was captured.

While Detroit’s Motown Records was considered their largest competitor, there were great distinctions between the two labels. The most notable being the unedited recordings of Stax artists, while Motown pristinely edited their music for radio play. To this day, the music of Stax maintains that same authenticity.

Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration features  top hits like Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff” and Eddie Floyd’s “Knock On Wood,” as well as rarities including Linda Lyndell’s “What A Man” (which was sampled for Salt-N-Pepa’s hit single “Whatta Man”) and Rufus Thomas’ “Walking The Dog.”

The tragic deaths of Otis Redding and four of the six members of Redding’s backup band The Bar-Kays, in 1967, marked the end of the first era of Stax. The label declared bankruptcy two years later. Stax’s endurance had been put to the test but bounced back when Fantasy Records agreed to buy-out the label.

In 1971, Isaac Hayes, a former Stax session player, released one of cinema’s most memorable soundtracks, Shaft. Hayes’ popular “Theme From Shaft,” seductive “Never Can Say Goodbye,” and recreation of Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By” are all highlights of Stax 50th. The Staple Singers, Soul Children and Shirley Brown wrap up the collection with soulful, upbeat ballads that influenced the disco-era.

At the 2007 GRAMMY’s,  Booker T. & The MG’s were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In the May issue of Rolling Stone, the 40th Year Anniversary issue, “Respect,” written by Otis Redding, was declared #13 in the “40 Songs That Changed The World.” This was truly a glorious year for Stax Records.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Stax.

Download:  The entire compilation

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  To purchase CDs, click on the cover art or title link. To legally download, click on the iTunes logo. If you do not have iTunes, you can download it here by clicking the "download iTunes" logo above. 

 

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