Stax 50th - A 50th Anniversary Celebration

When I was coming up, getting my feet wet in R&B, soul, and blues, the word Stax was synonymous with quality and authenticity. If it came from Stax, you were almost certainly assured of getting the genuine article - not a copy of a copy of a copy. Stax certainly had its share of breakout stars, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers - acts that got national approbation.After the headliners came a group of equally talented performers who were minor deities in R&B circles - Booker T. & the MGs, Albert King, Carla Thomas, and Johnnie Taylor among them. Late arrivals to this material may be interested to learn what Walkin' the Dog - Rufus Thomas - sounded like before the Stones cashed in. There are multiple wonderful surprises on this 2-CD set - from Little Milton - That's What Love Will Make You Do - to - Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Johnnie Taylor - to the priceless - Your Good Thing Is About To End - Mable John.If you want the material that broke out you'll be more than satisfied - Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight - and the irresistible - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics - not to mention classics by artists previously listed. But the real fun is digging way down into material you've most likely never heard - Candy - The Astors - just great! About the only disappointment this terrific set has to offer is discovering that Isaac Hayes just doesn't hold up very well. His voice is glorious, but the delivery is goopy and the over-arrangements intolerable.Buy now, think later! 2-CDs - which cleverly add up to 50 tracks (50th Anniversary Edition), sturdy box, excellent booklet. I simply cannot imagine where you could find more for less - this wonderful collection could easily provide the foundation for a really solid, and delightful, collection. Switchin' labels on the tables, this assortment Stax up real nice.

I'll be straight right off the bat. When someone says "Classics," it usually means music for old people. That's what it really is, and there's no shame in it. But young people can like "Classics" too, provided they have decent musical tastes and a pop music awareness that is broader than Hip-Hop or modern Pop.This collection is chock full of tunes that every person (old OR young) who appreciates music and its evolution should have in his or her collection. When it comes to talking about the R&B period of American music, this collection contains an abundance of gems and must-haves. A lot of these tunes are available for cameos in other collections, but this particular set of two CDs groups them in a tight, logical order. These tunes will make you laugh, sniffle, shuffle your feet or compel you to spontaneously bust out a move and grab the nearest convenient microphone-looking item for a soulful sing-along.The recording quality is pretty good for the era, so you can crank the songs up to decent volume without annoying your music system.If for no other reason, this collection is worth buying because it reminds us of a day when music was created for motivations beyond pure profit or shameless self-promotion, and artists actually did pour their heart and soul into their creations. Classic.

If you think of the 1960's through 1970's with fond rememberence, then you'll recognize a lot of these songs. Remember radio? It was FREE to listen to and you could choose all sorts of stations, even if you were east coast or west coast. Many of these hits were ingrained in your memory and lots of you will find you still know all the words and can sing along, even if a bit off-key. "Green Onions" by Booker T & The MG's gets you on your feet and you'll wear yourself out by the middle of the first disc. "Knock on Wood" by Eddie Floyd, "Soul Man" by Sam and Dave and personal favorite Otis Redding's "Sittin on the Dock of the Bay"....oh man, this is great music. Even if you only have this one set of Stax music, this one has it all. There is a great booklet telling the whold Stax story with photos of most all the performers. There are 28 songs on the first disc and 22 on the second disc. Second disc has Issac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" and it is so good to hear that again, after you got tired of it being over-played on the radio and now it's just as good as the first time you heard it. Anyway, lots of good stuff here, just order it up and enjoy.

This collection reminds me of one of those collections of soul 45 RPM singles WLAC DJ John R used to hawk on his night time radio show in Nashville back in the 60's when I had my first transistor radio and WLAC was about the only good station I could get at night. This CD collection is enough popular Stax/Volt recordings for a tantalizing taste of mainstream Stax, but is by no means a complete Stax collection. Songs pivotal to the early development of Stax are totally missing but they really didn't get much airplay anywhere but the mid-south so only true devotees are going to notice. However also missing are some definitive landmark in-house Stax recordings by major names at the label like Otis Redding. His "Try A Little Tenderness" is possibly the biggest hole here. In interviews that song is often cited as the greatest, most perfect or "Staxiest" record ever recorded at Stax and it certainly should be in the 50th Anniversary Collection. You get "Soul Man" but not "Soul Girl." The more complete Stax collections are several times more expensive or are more focused on certain eras and you have to buy multiple era collections to get the whole picture. This collection covers everything except the very early days and it is a good choice if you are budget minded yet want to hit some of the highlights of the more popular Stax songs and artists. The two CD's are crammed slam full. They could have spread this content out to 4 CD's in two volumes. Lots of value for your dollar and good for people like me that have deeper vinyl at home but would like some Stax on CD on the road. Be warned this music is addictive and like good soul food there is nothing else like it. Before you know what happened you may be hungry for some "Burnt Biscuits" or "Jelly Bread" and other deeper Stax cuts along with some of the prime cuts that should be here.

Alot of my favorite music is pre, during my stay, and just after- Nam -these songs hit all those years from '67 to early 70s (I was there from Aug 68 to June of '70 and used these songs to relate to my fellow GIs on guard duty or hanging around the bunkers smoking a joint;these songs are super smooth and super hot at the same time. The beat, folks, is incomparable;slow dancing in '61 to trying to get my feet undone with Otis' Respect or Tramp w/Carla and thinking about a dusty bunker and a cold one on the Saigon River, I hear "Who's making Love to your ol' lady? while you're in Viet Nam.." all the brothers know what I'm talking about, they were certainly filling me with soul while I was there, and I have some good memories of coming together with these Stax selections, and I cannot forget probably my favorite group-The Staples-"I'll Take You There" Lord, there's nothing like them any where today. They just plain and simple make you feel young while letting you remember alot of things with no regrets. Keep those saxophones humming, Stax!

Never heard of Stax until I read a book on 60s music a little bit ago. This is a great collection of their music.And the quality is awesome. Great job on remastering these songs.

I bought this disc set 'gently used'. It was as advertised. And I love the music - Stax was the home of the early soul music - Otis Redding, Booker T, Sam & Dave, plus many other greats.

A bounty of americas finest R n B artists with a box fullof Memphis Soul from the illustrious 60's & 70'sNot to be missed for folks pining for those awesome daysof yesteryear when music had you on your feet and groovinto Booker T - Sam N Dave - Eddie Floyd - Carla Thomas -William Bell - Staple Singers - Issac Hayes - Johnnie Taylorand the Dramatics ' What You See Is What You Get '.Great Music - Great Packaging - Great Price .Reach Out And Touch A Friend - Yes Indeed - PC - LA

これほど貴重な音源をまとめてリリースしてくれたのはうれしい。もちろん、今でも入手可能な楽曲はあるが、STAXレーベルの歴史が2枚で堪能できる。Booker T.&The MG's , Sam&Dave, Mable Jhonson, など、入門に適している。気に入ったアーティストがいれば、関連CDを買うもよし。日本版もリリースされているが、もちろん輸入盤の方が安い。ライナーや解説が必要なければもちろん輸入盤。音楽はライナーで読むものではないし。詳細が知りたければ、いくらでもネットに落ちている。

Even though I already had several of the tracks, I'm glad I bought it.It is a very complete compilation. I was lucky enough to have visited the Stax recording studio in Memphis last year. I had an absolutely amazing day. Would highly recommend both the CD and a visit.

JUST LOVE EVERY SINGLE SONGS ON BOTH CD"S , ORIGINAL RECORDING , ALL THE GREAT ARTIST OF STAX ARE HERE.

Je suis en pleine poussée de zik soul et rythm and blues en ce moment. Je ne connaissais que quelques titres du coffret, mais je peux dire que je ne suis pas déçu de l'ensemble.En plus le coffret deux CD est arrivé directement des States from San Diego California. Pour info : le vendeur, même s'il s'exprime dans la langue de l'Oncle Sam,est très attentif à la satisfaction de ses clients et ça fait plaisir de voir que même de l'autre côté du fleuve, le business c'est aussi "consumer satisfaction". Je trouvais que le coffret mettait du temps à arriver, mais finalement quand j'ai vu qu'il venait de San Diego, le délai de livraison est très respectable.Bravo le vendeur, Merci Amazon

Marvellous , music of my youth not a dud track anywhere to be found.never off in the car.even tracked down 3 tracks in their original 45s for framing.