Ever since the Concord Music Group acquired the rights to the Stax catalog, soul music buffs have been treated to some wonderful reissues, all manner of tracks that might never seen the light of the day but for the work of those folks who love to comb the vaults for buried musical treasure. I know how rewarding it can be, having worked for many years on projects for Rhino involving the Atlantic tape library and the discovery of some amazing track in among masses of boxes is akin to being an archaeologist finding a priceless Egyptian artifact!

The Stax peeps have been particularly inventive with the release of two new concept-driven compilations. First up is “Stax Sings The Songs Of Motown Records” also known as “Soulsville Does Hitsville.” The relationship between Motown and Stax was particularly interesting in the mid-‘60s as Stax began to emerge as a serious force at black radio: in a lively conversation in 2006 in Philadelphia sponsored by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, former Stax President Al Bell joked with Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. that he would check with his radio d.j. friends to find out when Motown was releasing a new Temptations record so that he could avoid competing with the Detroit giant for airplay if he had a new Otis Redding or Sam & Dave record ready to go to radio stations!

While there was no doubt friendly rivalry, Motown aware that the Memphis label was beginning to make serious inroads in the world of black music, the artists on both labels would from time to time, cover each others’ songs. There were very few Motown covers of Stax tunes because the Motown stable of songwriters were constantly vying for opportunities to have their songs recorded but occasionally, you’d get ‘interesting’ versions of Stax tunes such as The Supremes’ take on “Respect”!

The reverse was not necessarily true as is borne out by this new fifteen-cut collection that goes deep into the vaults for gems such as a twelve-minute version of the Gladys Knight & The Pips/Marvin Gaye smash “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” by The Bar-Kays (previously unissued), a melancholy take on The Four Tops’ “Ask The Lonely” by John Gary Williams (making its CD debut), the sweet-voiced reading of the Smokey Robinson & Miracles’ 1966 cut “Oh Be My Love” by Michigan native Barbara (“Hello Stranger”) Lewis (from her one 1970 Stax LP) and “You’ve Got To Earn It,” a Temptations song revisited by The Staple Singers.

My personal favorites include “Never Can Say Goodbye,” the Jackson Five chestnut given an appropriately-lush makeover by Isaac Hayes; the blistering reading of Marvin Gaye’s “Chained” by Mavis Staples, recorded originally for her 1969 Volt solo debut set; Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” with a sho-nuff version by the inimitable Soul Children; and with its brilliant self-penned opening rap, Margie Joseph’s cutting new interpretation of The Supremes’ “Stop! In The Name Of Love” turned into a whole other thang! Righteous…and worth the price of the entire CD which is imaginative and well constructed.

David Nathan
a/k/a “The British Ambassador Of Soul”
Owner, www.soulmusic.com, www.soulmusicstore.com, www.soulmusicglobal.com
Secretary, The Rhythm & Blues Foundation (www.rhythm-n-blues.org)

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