Customer Reviews

Complete Stax-Volt Singles

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Probably the greatest box set there is. Out of all the tracks there are only two out and out duds - the Nick Charles ones. What is so amazing about this set is the incredible continuity of quality. Booker T. and the MG's....this truly is their legacy. What fabulous musicians...the tastiest that ever scratched their sound into vinyl. All of the Stax classics are here (Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Bookert T.,Albert King, Bar Kays, etc.) but the real treat are the ones that I was never aware of (William Bell, Mable John, The Astors, Gorgeous George). This is maybe the only huge box seat that is worth the dough.

See, this is why people my age (40ish) and older can't listen to much of today's so called R&B. We grew up listening to the BEST and can't settle for just any barrage of notes scattering across the musical scale. I still play this music today. I think if anyone was able to write songs like these today they would, but that was a one-time golden era and these songs are nuggets. This is the best collection of Stax and if you want it all, this is the one to buy.

This was probably the first or second box set I ever bought & it was a real wake up.

When box sets first came out (1990?), I bought this simply because it LOOKED like something I should know something about and the price was right. I wasn't even sure at the time if I was interested in R&B, being a freak for almost any kind of hard rock. However, I knew that some of my favorite bands like the Pretenders, Buzzcocks, Deep Purple, Zappa, Aerosmith, Talking Heads, and others cited old Stax/Volt R&B as influences. There were songs on here that ZZ Top & the Blues Brothers had covered.
Besides, I was learning guitar at the time, and many of my shred heroes from Kirk Hammett to Stevie Ray Vaughn touted the ever mystical "groove" factor & I wanted to know what that was.

And MY GOD what a huge education this thing was, & it makes you want to dance your ... off like you've got voodoo fever! Rufus Thomas, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & The M.G.s, and of course the majestic Otis Redding with everything you could want out of his dictionary of soul. These people had been blips on my musical radar until I bought this. It seems hard to believe now.

The biggest musical lesson this collection taught me was that happy or emotional romantic music that makes you dance doesn't have to be vapid, pop cotton candy. Simultaneously, it teaches you the history of a very important record label that probably did just as much for the civil rights movement as the marches did. After all, when you get a zillion white kids groovin' to black music, what do you think is going to happen?

This thing is a politial party AND a dance party!

If you are interested in exploring the true origins of the groove you must here this songs.
The most interesting thing, for me, is Al Jackson's and Duck Dunn's use of space in their grooves. They demonstrate that the question is not how quick you play or how many notes you can play, but the real sense of the song, it's musical potential.
Almost all the songs in this compilation are timeless and beautifull.
When you hear this tunes, you can feel that musicians are enjoying while playing, that's the most valuable evidence that it's good.

If you're going to shell out money for this baby, then be prepared to go all the way. The listening will both elate you and exhaust you as you hear innumerable songs (probably for the first time) that make you go "WOW!" I stopped counting after awhile, but the quality factor here is way over 90%, not bad for a 9 CD set. The one constant here is the GROOVE, engineered by Booker T. and the MG's. If God has a house band, you know it's gotta be these guys (or will be when the other 3 make it there). The late Al Jackson Jr. had a pulse like no other drummer you will ever hear, and if you only listen to this set for the drumming, then it's still the wisest investment you'll ever make. Go to your bank if you have to, but get ahold of this monument to great music. Your soul will thank you!!!

The very Stax sound. Otis, Carla, Rufus ... Don't be afraid of the price for pleasure of listenning is at the end of the road.

Best money I ever spent on music. Was there ever a tighter outfit than than the Stax/Volt houseband? I think not.
Just go and get it. Now.

None of the song samples match up with the artists and songs listed! This is very aggravating. Please fix!

If you think The Association was a great group, this set may not be for you. But if you want to know soul music, here's the place to start. It contains many classic recordings and shows some of the great artists as they grew. I love hearing Isaac Hayes & David Porter develop their producing style in one great single after another. "I'll Run Your Hurt Away" by Ruby Johnson, the choicest of the early Hayes-Porter productions, is worth the price of the whole set. And then there's Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd ("Big Bird" is here), Rufus Thomas, Sam and Dave, I could go on and on. The second Stax/Volt set is just as wonderful. I haven't sprung for the third yet, but I will.

For those who grew up in the 60's, when the music in the air carried the promise of hope in a sad song, and the positive joy of living in all others, this is it. I love this box set beyond words. With 9 CDs every song cannot be great; but I especially enjoy disks 5 through 9 (130 or so songs)--which I listen to anytime with pleasure.

It's amazing all the fantastic, soulful songs on here that didn't chart or barely charted, For example, "Howw...can youu...mistreat the one you love"--Jeannie and the Darlings; or, "I'm a Big Girl Now"--Mabel John; or "You (sure can't) Run Away From Your Heart"--Judy Clay; or the knock out version of "Knock on Wood" by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. This is a treasure chest of unsung gems.

I don't understand the notion (expressed in two prior reviews) that David Porter isn't represented on this recording; he and Isaac Hayes are well represented; they wrote three of the four songs listed above(as well as many other great songs on this set; and Porter's shown in at least one of the photos of a very fine accompanying booklet).

If you liked the music in the Blues Bros. movie, well, much of it is on this Stax set--including a recurring theme song that is Otis Redding's "Turn it Loose". It has all the songs of Otis (the real soul man--just listen), Sam & Dave, Booker T & the MGs, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, The Bar-Kays and other greats artists. The price sounds steep but it's worth every dime.