Dec 28, 2018

RhoDeo 1851 Grooves

Hello,


Founded in 1957 by a white brother and sister, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton (hence St-Ax), it had turned its McLemore Avenue studios, carved from a converted cinema, into an oasis of racial harmony in a city still riven by segregation. The label's mixed house band, Booker T and the MGs, was emblematic. "Colour never came through the doors," said the MGs' white guitarist Steve Cropper, whose terse, stinging licks helped define the Stax sound, and who would co-write some of its biggest hits.

"Racism has long been the grit that produces musical pearls in Memphis," observes Gordon, who frames Stax's tale within the wider narrative of the civil rights struggle. The 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King on the balcony of Memphis's Lorraine motel, a musicians' hangout, soured the atmosphere inside an organisation still reeling from the death of its star turn, Otis Redding, a few months previously.

Redding was one of many talents to benefit from the open-door policy of Stewart, a banker by profession, and Axton, who ran a record shop in the cinema's former snack bar, and who became the label's antennae and mother hen. Otis had arrived as driver for guitarist Johnny Jenkins, but stunned the studio with his audition piece, These Arms of Mine. They cut the song then and there. Redding's aching vocals, straight from the pews of a southern congregation, came with winning charisma and ferocious onstage presence. After Otis, everyone (including the Beatles) wanted a piece of the Stax sound.

The international success of Redding, Sam and Dave and the MGs themselves – 1962's Green Onions was an early triumph – brought acclaim and problems. A rapturously received 1967 European package tour opened the musicians' eyes to the scale of their achievements and the corresponding shortfall in their earnings. Worse was to follow. Atlantic Records had been Stax's partner since Carla Thomas's 1961 breakout, Gee Whiz, had brought the New York label calling, eager for distribution rights. Atlantic's sale to Warners in 1967 activated an unnoticed contractual clause that awarded Stax's entire back catalogue to Atlantic in what Gordon terms "an act of corporate homicide".
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The devastation continued with King's assassination. The ensuing riots and arson left the Stax studios unscathed, but, as singer Rufus Thomas put it, "the complexion of everything changed". Determined to rebuild, Stewart entrusted operations to vice president Al Bell, a former radio DJ turned civil rights activist described by Gordon as "the Otis Redding of business". Bell envisioned Stax as a model of black advancement through economic empowerment, and created an instant catalogue with the simultaneous release of 27 albums by almost as many new acts. For capital, a controlling interest was sold to Paramount Pictures, the first of several complex deals he and Stewart engineered.

Stax's open door promptly slammed shut. Harassment of musicians by local thugs ensured that. Bell's solution was Johnny Baylor, an ex-special ops ranger who fixed problems with gun and fist. The harassment stopped but Baylor became a toxic presence, on one occasion hospitalising a musician for ordering too much room service.

"The family feeling was suddenly gone," said sax player Wayne Jackson. "There were people with guns in the house. They put up a big fence with a guard: Fort Stax."

The new regime made exiles of stalwarts like Axton and Cropper but Stax prospered, with massive hits from Johnny Taylor, the Staple Singers and Ike Hayes, the last promoted from backroom songwriter to unlikely superstar. Bell celebrated with 1972's Wattstax, an all-day festival at LA's giant Coliseum. Compered by the Rev Jessie Jackson (an old Bell buddy), Wattstax was part label showcase, part black pride rally, and spawned a celebrated documentary film.

Behind Stax's hip, happening facade lay a bloated organisation of 200 employees, where excess flourished and rumours of gangsterism and payola flew, especially after the FBI picked up Baylor with $129,000 cash and a cheque from Stax for $500,000. The IRS opened investigations. Owed $10m, the Union Planters Bank pressed for bankruptcy and the closure that arrived early in 1976. Ike Hayes, on whom "money had rained" lost his back catalogue and was soon also declared bankrupt.

When Stax Records had renewed the contract of its biggest star, Isaac Hayes, in 1972, it sugar-coated the deal with a custom-built, gold-plated Cadillac Eldorado. Thirty-year-old Hayes had recently become the first black musician to win an Oscar for his Theme from Shaft. His albums of "symphonic soul" sold by the millions – the most recent, Black Moses, had come in a lavish cover that unfolded into a cross, framing the former meat-packer as an Old Testament prophet, clad in biblical robes and wraparound shades. Hubris? Hayes's gilded Caddy marked the pinnacle of Stax's fortunes, from which the company soon fell into bankruptcy and ruin, dragged down by corruption and financial excess. For a label that had created some of the greatest pop of the 20th century, making the careers of Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, the Staple Singers and scores more, it was a shocking fall from grace.

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At nine discs and 244 tracks, The Complete Stax-Volt Singles: 1968-1971 is far too exhaustive for casual fans, but that's not who the set is designed for -- it's made for the collector. Featuring every A-side the label released during those nine years, as well as several B-sides, the set is a definitive portrait of gritty, deep Southern soul. Many of the genre's major names plus many terrific one-shot wonders are showcased in terrific sound and augmented with an in-depth booklet. For any serious soul or rock collector, it's an essential set, since Stax-Volt was not only a musically revolutionary label, its roster was deep with talent, which means much of the music on this collection is first-rate. .



VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 5 (flac   465mb)

501 Ollie & The Nightingales - Bracing Myself For The Fall 2:53
502 William Bell & Carla Thomas - All I Have To Do Is Dream 3:12
503 Jeanne And The Darlings - Singing About Love 2:20
504 Chris And Shack - Goodies 2:40
505 Barbara Lewis - Just The Way You Are Today 3:31
506 Little Sonny - The Creeper Returns 4:12
507 Carla Thomas - Guide Me Well 3:51
508 The Staple Singers - Give A Damn 3:06
509 Johnnie Taylor - Steal Away 3:25
510 Margie Joseph - Your Sweet Lovin' 3:36
511 Jones & Blumenberg - I Forgot To Remember 3:40
512 David Porter - Can't See You When I Want To 4:30
513 Carla Thomas - Never Be True 4:16
514 Albert King - Can't You See What You're Doing To Me 3:38
515 Rufus Thomas - Sixty Minute Man (Part 2) 3:30
516 Rufus Thomas - The Preacher And The Bear 3:51
517 Booker T. & The MGs - Something 3:31
518 The Mad Lads - Seeing Is Believin' 4:10
519 Roz Ryan - You're My Only Temptation 2:35
520 Paul Thompson - What I Don't Know Won't Hurt Me 2:55
521 Branding Iron - Right, Tight And Out Of Sight 2:59
522 John KaSandra - (What's Under) The Natural Do 3:00

VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol. 2 5 (ogg   183mb)

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VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 6 (flac   465mb)

601 Eddie Floyd - My Girl 3:19
602 Mavis Staples - I Have Learned To Do Without You 4:09
603 The T.S.U. Toronadoes - Play The Music Toronadoes 2:33
604 William Bell - Lovely Soldier 3:58
605 The Emotions - Heart Association 3:01
606 Isaac Hayes - I Stand Accused 4:02
607 The Staple Singers - Brand New Day 3:42
608 Margie Joseph -Sweeter Tomorrow 3:12
609 Bernie Hayes - Cool Strut 2:54
610 The Newcomers - You Put The Sunshine Back In My World 3:03
611 The Bar-Kays -  Montego Bay 2:32
612 Rudy Robinson & The Hungry Five - Got It Together (Parts 1 & 2) 5:27
613 Little Sonny - Wade In The Water 3:14
614 The Nightingales - You're Movin' Much Too Fast 2:50
615 Eddie Floyd - The Best Years Of My Life 3:03
616 Johnnie Taylor - I Am Somebody (Part 2) 3:18
617 Carla Thomas - I Loved You Like I Love My Very Life 2:45
618 Reggie Milner - Soul Machine 2:25
619 The Temprees - (Follow Her) Rules And Regulations 2:52
620 Rufus Thomas - (Do The) Push And Pull (Part 1) 3:14
621 Charlene And The Soul Serenaders - Love Changes 3:50
622 The Soul Children - Put Your World In My World (Best Of Two Worlds) 2:54
623 The Staple Singers - Love Plentiful 2:30

VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 6 (ogg   173mb)

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VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 7 (flac   452mb)

701 The Staple Singers - Heavy Make Too Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom) 2:58
702 The Staple Singers - Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas 2:29
703 Shack - Too Many Lovers 2:43
704 The Emotions - Black Christmas 2:46
705 Isaac Hayes - The Mistletnoe And Me 3:56
706 Barbara Lewis - Ask The Lonely 3:11
707 Johnnie Taylor - Judy's Got Your Girl And Gone 3:00
708 The Soul Children - Finish Me Off 3:35
709 Eddie Floyd - Oh, How It Rained 3:10
710 Isaac Hayes - The Look Of Love 3:18
711 Ernie Hines - Electrified Love 3:06
712 Booker T. & The MGs - Melting Pot 3:50
713 Barbara Lewis - That's The Way I Like It (I Like It That Way) 3:04
714 Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff 2:27
715 The Emotions - You Make Me Want To Love You 3:12
716 Margie Joseph - Stop! In The Name Of Love 4:40
717 Johnnie Taylor - I Don't Wanna Lose You 3:55
718 The Temprees - (Girl) I Love You 3:12
719 Rufus Thomas - The World Is Round 3:12
720 William Bell - A Penny For Your Thoughts 3:00
721 Isaac Hayes - Never Can Say Goodbye 3:32
722 The Nightingales - I Don't Want To Be Like My Daddy 3:20

VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 7 (ogg   169mb)

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VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 8 (flac   453mb)

801 The Staple Singers - You've Got To Earn It 3:28
802 The Limitations - Hold On To It 2:33
803 The Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get 3:30
804 Branding Iron - Born Too Late 2:33
805 Jimmy Hughes - Just Ain't Strong As I Used To Be (You Done Fed Me Sumpin') 3:00
806 Margie Joseph - That Other Woman Got My Man And Gone 3:31
807 The Emotions - If You Think It (You May As Well Do It) 3:00
808 Calvin Scott - Shame On The Family Name 2:45
809 Eddie Floyd - Blood Is Thicker Than Water 2:40
810 Johnnie Taylor - Hijackin' Love 3:17
811 Melvin Van Peebles - Sweetback's Theme 3:25
812 Rufus Thomas - The Breakdown (Part 1) 3:11
813 The Newcomers - Pin The Tail On The Donkey 2:59
814 Lee Sain - Them Hot Pants 3:05
815 Little Milton - If That Ain't A Reason (For Your Woman To Leave You) 3:22
816 Shack - It's Good To Be Careful (But It's Better To Be Loved) 2:50
817 Ilana - Where Would You Be Today 3:15
818 Albert King - Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven 3:45
819 The Soul Children - Got To Get Away From It All 3:20
820 United Image - Love's Creeping Up On Me 2:24
821 The Emotions - Show Me How 3:04
822 David Porter - If I Give It Up, I Want It Back 2:28
823 Little Sonny - A Woman Named Trouble 4:25

VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 8 (ogg   173mb)

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VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 9 (flac   439mb)

901 Eddie Giles - Losing Boy 3:04
902 The Staple Singers - Respect Yourself 3:30
903 Hot Sauce - I'll Kill A Brick (About My Man) 2:45
904 Jean Knight - You Think You're Hot Stuff 2:25
905 William Bell - All For The Love Of A Woman 3:12
906 Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft 3:15
907 The MGs - Jamaica, This Morning 3:06
908 The Mad Lads - Gone! The Promises Of Yesterday 3:41
909 Major Lance - Girl, Come On Home 2:38
910 Joni Wilson - (Let Hurt Put You In The) Loser's Seat 3:15
911 The Temprees - My Baby Love 2:54
912 The Leaders - How Do You Move A Mountain 2:20
913 Black Nasty - Black Nasty Boogie (Part 6) 2:37
914 Rufus Thomas - Do The Funky Penguin (Part 1) 3:08
915 Carla Thomas - You've Got A Cushion To Fall On 3:36
916 The Dramatics - Get Up And Get Down 3:10
917 The Bar-Kays - Son Of Shaft 3:13
918 L.V. Johnson - Don't Cha Mess With My Money, My Honey, Or My Woman 3:38
919 Eric Mercury - I Can Smell That Funky Music 3:00
920 Calvin Scott - A Sadness For Things 3:15
921 Little Milton - That's What Love Will Make You Do 3:53
922 Johnnie Taylor - Standing In For Judy 3:42

VA - The Complete Stax-Volt Singles, Vol.2 9 (ogg   167mb)

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Rho,

A re-up of these would be great if possible.

Thank you as always!