Details Craft Recordings honors the music of The Gospel Truth Records, a subsidiary of Stax Records, with the first-ever complete collection of all 34 singles issued by the imprint between 1972 and 1974. The compilation features in-depth liner notes by Jared Boyd, a Memphis-based journalist and NPR radio host, who captured new interviews with Stax Records executive Al Bell, trailblazing gospel artist Rance Allen, and Mary …
Details Craft Recordings honors the music of The Gospel Truth Records, a subsidiary of Stax Records, with a complete collection of all 34 singles issued by the imprint between 1972 and 1974. The compilation features in-depth liner notes by Jared Boyd, a Memphis-based journalist and NPR radio host, who captured new interviews with Stax Records executive Al Bell, trailblazing gospel artist Rance Allen, and Mary Peak Patterson, who …
Details In 1968, Johnnie Taylor’s provocative single, “Who’s Making Love” gave the newly independent Stax Records its first major hit. The song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped to bolster the label’s profile. The album Who’s Making Love was released months later, and not only featured the title track but also an irresistible collection of …
Details Back on vinyl for the first time since 1969, Soul Explosion offers a sampling of the Stax Records’ biggest hits and stars of the day, with Eddie Floyd, the Mad Lads, the Staple Singers, Albert King and more. The second disc of the set includes a selection of rare tracks, many of which are exclusive to this collection. These include …
Details As part of Stax’s year-long, 60th anniversary celebration, this quirky collection of long-lost gems from the latter days of the Stax empire, Stax Country highlights the Memphis soul label’s effort to branch out into country music. Although the majority of the tunes on this album never made it to the radio waves, the tracks here stand as a unique …
Details This 6-CD box set delves deep into the Stax Records archives, and explores the label’s efforts to diversify their output. This new addition to the critically acclaimed series of Stax singles boxes offers a more profound study of the Memphis label’s catalog, including long-forgotten B-sides and rarities, and focusing not just on soul tunes – for which the label …
Details An unsung monster from the waning hours of the Stax empire, Roy Lee Johnson & The Villagers‘ eponymous LP is as funky as anything the label ever released. While its sound is unmistakably Stax — its elegant yet earthy sensibility couldn’t come from anywhere else — the music expands on the formula via tight, hypnotic grooves and scorching guitar …
Details Woman to Woman is Shirley Brown‘s first album and finds the singer settling in nicely to a set of slow ballads, all soaked with an ache that the singer seems born to convey. The title track is the song most associated with the singer and one of the great love-triangle melodramas of the ’70s, sparking a series of answer songs, …
Details The remastered LP also includes new liner notes from author, journalist and music critic Jeff Weiss, as well as from Melvin’s son Mario Van Peebles, director of New Jack City (1991) and 2003’s Baadasssss!, which chronicles the making of his father’s landmark film. The soundtrack features a combination of hymn-based vocalization and jazz rhythms, capturing the funky, gritty and …
Details The ultimate combination of funk and soul with a gospel edge. The Sons of Truth deliver their message with their own signature blend of sweet-soul vocal harmonies and wah-wah-laced grooves. An essential offering from the Stax subsidiary label, Gospel Truth. Don’t be fooled by the down-and-out vibe of the album cover – between the sweet-soul tinged vocal harmonies and …
Details 50th Anniversary Edition of The Staple Singers’ iconic fourth album for Stax Records, “Be Altitude: Respect Yourself”. Featuring the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Memphis Horns, the album is pressed on 180-gram vinyl with ALL-ANALOG mastering from the original stereo tapes by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl. Includes the Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit “I’ll Take You …
This compilation of festive songs features legendary Stax Records recording artists, including The Staple Singers, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, The Emotions, Isaac Hayes, and more. With a newly unearthed version of the Billy Hayes / Jay W. Johnson classic “Blue Christmas” beautifully sung by legendary Stax recording artist Carla Thomas and an unreleased Alternate Mix of “Merry Christmas Baby” by …
Legendary soul singer and songwriter William Bell has returned to his original home, Stax Records, for the appropriately titled This Is Where I Live, his first major release in almost four decades. Known for writing and performing several soul standards – “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” “Private Number,” “Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday,” and “I Forgot To Be …
Details Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic WATTSTAX concert that took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1972, Stax Records presents the most comprehensive collection of audio recordings from the event ever. This 12-CD set, features 31 previously unreleased tracks, with material from the Summit Club and other additional recordings. The 76-page, full-color book in the set also features, an …
Details A landmark album released by Isaac Hayes and the Bar-Kays at the height of their powers in 1971, Shaft not only resulted in an Oscar win for Hayes, but launched the wah-wah workout and #1 smash-hit, “Theme from Shaft” into cultural ubiquity. Its legacy transcends time as not only one of the most lasting and most successful Blaxploitation albums of all time, but one …
