"The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Thirty-Four Tracks from January 1972 to October 1974 – Seventeen US 45-Single-Sides (A&B) on the Stax-Related 'The Gospel Truth' Records Label – Featuring The Rance Allen Group, Terry Lynne Community Choir, Reverend Maceo Woods, Reverend Marvin Yancy, The 21st Century, Jacqui Verdell, Blue Aquarius, Jimmy Jones, Charles May and Annette May Thomas, Louise McCord, Joshie Jo Armstead and more (September 2020 US Craft Recordings/Stax 2CD 34-Track Compilation in a Three-Panel Gatefold Card Sleeve with Joe Tarantino Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gospel-Truth-Complete-Singles-Collection/dp/B08FSMSH65?crid=MVYUV1Y1WO53&keywords=888072180468&qid=1707824396&sprefix=888072180468%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=4d032fd3e077e63692ac82ddfce7a60b&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"…Just My Salvation…Running Inside Of Me…"

Although Stax was most closely associated with R&B, Soul and Funk for the Sixties and Seventies – between January 1972 and October 1974 when Stax was still a viable Record Company before their ignominious liquidation and closure in 1975 – they got behind the Lord.

Fans will know that smidgens of the American label The Gospel Truth have turned up on the Stax Singles Mega Boxes – particularly Volume 3 and 4 (I have reviewed all four separately). August 2010 also saw Ace Records of the UK via their Beat Goes Public label imprint offer up a CD compilation called "The Gospel Truth: The Gospel And Funk Of Stax Records" (see my separate review for Ace/Beat Goes Public CDBGP 222 - Barcode 029667522229 - and pictures below). But that 20-track compilation concentrated primarily on the album output of the label and leaned (as it said in the title) towards the Funk and Soul of the label. 

This double has some Funk and Soul but is primarily about secular themes and is the first time their Entire Singles output has been put into one place. Remastered from original tapes and presented to an unwitting world with genuine class – seventeen US 45s and their (mostly) Non-LP B-sides - thirty-four sides in total. These single-sides are rare, and on digital have received scant attention until now

I have found that everything Craft Recordings does regarding reissued-Stax and the label's astonishing legacy, is invariably a classy affair. And this wee twofer from September 2020 is no different. Craft even issued a 3LP version 8 January 2021 in the US on Craft Recordings CR00331 (Barcode 888072180383) – a beautiful piece of kit and if it sounds anywhere as good as this does – then turntable Nirvana is not far away. But back to the 2CD variant – and how the angels won the day…

US released 17 September 2020 – "The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Craft Recordings/Stax CR00332 (Barcode 888072180468) is a 2CD 34-Track Compilation of Remasters covering US-only 45-Single releases between January 1972 and October 1974 that plays out as follows: 

CD1 (64:02 minutes):
1. Just My Imagination (Just My Salvation) – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
2. Up Above My Head – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
3. His Love Will Always Be – TERRY LYNNE COMMUNITY CHOIR
4. Consider Me – TERRY LYNNE COMMUNITY CHOIR
5. Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You (Don't Let The Devil Fool You) – REVEREND W. BERNARD AVANT, Jr., & THE St. JAMES GOSPEL CHOIR
6. God Is What You Let Him Be - REVEREND W. BERNARD AVANT, Jr., & THE St. JAMES GOSPEL CHOIR
7. There's Gonna Be A Showdown – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
8. That Will Be Good Enough For Me – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
9. The Magnificent Sanctuary Band (Marching For The Man) – REVEREND MACEO WOODS & THE CHRISTIAN TABERNACLE CONCERT CHOIR
10. Jesus Is Waiting - REVEREND MACEO WOODS & THE CHRISTIAN TABERNACLE CONCERT CHOIR
11. Keep My Baby Warm – CHARLES MAY & ANNETTE MAY THOMAS
12. Satisfied – CHARLES MAY & ANNETTE MAY THOMAS
13. Ride Out The Storm – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
14. I Got The Vibes – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
15. I Got To Be Myself – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
16. Gonna Make It Alright – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
17. Who's Supposed To Be Raising Who – THE 21ST CENTURY
18. All I Can Do – THE 21st CENTURY
NOTES ON CD1 (All Entries Below are US 45-Singles):
Tracks 1&2 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1201, January 1972 – a Gospel Cover of The Temptations Motown hit with words changed
Tracks 3&4 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1202, February 1972
Tracks 5&6 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1203, May 1972
Tracks 7&8 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1204, June 1972
Tracks 9&10 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1205, March 1972
Tracks 11&12 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1206, January 1973
Tracks 13&14 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1207, March 1973
Tracks 15&16 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1208, March 1973
Tracks 17&18 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1209, April 1973

CD2 (57:30 minutes):
1. I'm A Child Of The King – THE PEOPLE’S CHOIR OF OPERATION PUSH Under The Direction Of REVEREND MARTIN YANCY
2. He Included Me – as per Track 1
3. He's Mine – JACQUI VERDELL
4. We're Gonna Have A Good Time – JACQUI VERDELL
5. I Know A Man Who – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
6. Hot Line To Jesus – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
7. At The Feet Of The Master – BLUE AQUARIUS
8. Know Him While You Can – BLUE AQUARIUS
9. Stumblin' Blocks, Steppin' Stones (What Took Me So Long) – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
10. Give A Little Loving – JOSHIE JO ARMSTEAD
11. Do It Yourself – JIMMY JONES
12. If I Had A Hammer – JIMMY JONES
13. Be True – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
14. We're The Salt Of The Earth – THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP
15. Reflections – LOUISE McCORD
16. There's No Need To Cry – LOUISE McCORD
NOTES ON CD2:
Tracks 1&2 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1210, September 1973
Tracks 3&4 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1211, August 1973
Tracks 5&6 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1212, September 1973
Tracks 7&8 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1213, November 1973
Tracks 9&10 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1214, April 1974
Tracks 11&12 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1215, March 1974
Tracks 13&14 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1216, May 1974
Tracks 15&16 are the A&B-sides of Gospel Truth GTA-1217, October 1974

The 16-page CD-sized Booklet may feel a tad scant once out of its card-flap, but all the key players are featured in the newly penned JARED BOYD liner notes – fresh interviews from STAX Records chief executive AL BELL, their mainman gospel artist RANCE ALLEN and MARY PEAK (aka Mary Peak Patterson) – one-time assistant to the legendary DAVE CLARK - both of whom helped establish the label under the auspices of the STAX umbrella. From Jackson in Tennessee and in the music game since the 1930s, Dave Clark was called on by Bell to instigate the label. Clark recalled a story in a 1972 interview about being run out of Mississippi with his Aristocrat Records black music station vinyl piles burned on the side of the road by the State Police. How Clark found it in his heart to forgive those white racist scumbags must be literally down to the Lord and a wellspring of forgiveness I would not have. Peak and Bell also made sure that artists on the Gospel Truth label were treated like mainstream stars when they went touring – great cloths – decent accommodation and venues where they were appreciated. It is a fascinating read on a lesser-told side to Stax.

But you will be even more impressed by the Glorious Audio – JOE TARANTINO having done the Transfers and Remasters – a name associated with the other huge Stax Box Sets. I don't know how these Craft Recordings sets have such illuminating audio over previous stabs at Stax – but they do. Listening to the vocal pyrotechnics of Rance Allen on the debut-45 (Tracks 1 and 2 on CD1) and you are hit with gorgeous clarity – and just enough oomph to make you feel the choir lifting of with the spirit.

The Music: Northern Soul Dancers and Mod-moment chasers should know that "The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" absolutely ain't loaded with 70ts Soul as we know it and only very occasionally gets Funky Righteous. But when it does – the results are (dare we say it) devilishly sexy. The Rance Allen Group takes on The Staples Singers "I Got To Be Myself" (Track 15) where the shouter gets all Sly & The Family Stone on the personal positivity vibe (he soon returns to Jesus on the equally good flipside). There are songs like "Keep My Baby Warm" by Charles May and Annette May Thomas on CD1 that have as lovely a Soul vibe as you've ever heard and does so without mentioning the man in the sky even once (their very Staples Singers flipside "Satisfied" is secular too but in a saved-my-soul Funky way). 

I can hear why the Ace CD featured The 21st Century – their fantastically Funky "Who's Supposed To Be Raising Who" towards the end of CD1 gets ants-in-its-pants about the generation gap – they need leadership and strenght - who is the child and who is the adult. The same social consciousness permates "If The Shoe Fits, Wear It" – the B-side which Ace did include on their CD in 2010. It ends CD1 of this twofer on a high and with cracking audio too. 

As I said before, in the main, the music is full-on Gospel-abandonment Good-Word-Spreading marching for the man type tunes (Jesus gets a lot of favourable mentions and there maybe occasional clapping). And that dominates CD2. It opens with a joyous palm-in-his-hand "I'm A Child Of The King" where Reverend Marvin Yancy lends his deeply rich and Soulful lead vocals to a huge choir – lovely and hopeful in tandem. As singular piano notes and a lone church organ sets the scene for the flipside "He Included Me" – Lead Vocalist Loretta Oliver and the Choir may just reduce your heathen heart to tears (a gorgeous find). Lush strings lead in Jacqui Verdell as she caresses "He's Mine" where she sanctifies how much she depends on the big guy – it’s a slow almost Stylistics groove and it's another lovely discovery. She decides to go Funky Piano on the B-side "We're Gonna Have A Good Time" – but her words are not about partying but the colours all getting together and digging the scene. 

Rance Alley goes soppy too for the Lord on his own "I Know A Man Who" advising us that He will let you leave your troubles behind (a more restrained vocal, but what a voice nonetheless). Funksters will dig the Mack Rice flipside with its clavinet keyboard chug – Rance calls on the man in "Hot Line To Jesus" then goes Halleujah (Good God!). Blue Aquarius decide to step right out of the Stax/Gospel Truth sound altogether and get ever so slightly Duncan Browne-Nick Drake-Al Stewart Spanish Guitar acoustic with their "At The Feet Of The Master". It's a Pop Love-Song to Jesus of 4:22 minutes length that feels very Folk UK in ways – halfway through it goes all Hair in its chorus about 'we're all love'. Unfortunately, its ooh-bop-bop-bop B-side is terrible sub-Fifth Dimension meets Sixties Neil Diamond and not in a good way. Better, deeply emotive and believing every note, Joshie Jo Armstead brings her fabulous set of pipes to a tale of coming out of cotton fields and finding that her stumbling blocks had become stepping stones to a higher way. She penned the flipside and sounding like a more mature Tammi Terrell doing a Jimmy Webb song - "Give A Little Loving" has Joshie Jo let rip on the kindness message. 

The astonishingly rich and canyon-deep Lou Rawls meets Fred Neil voice of Jimmy Jones wows in his time-for-action plea song "Do It Yourself". Mentions of inflation and politicians ignoring poverty sets the 1974 city scene (he does the Pete Seeger/Lee Hays anthem "If I Had A Hammer" on the flipside in a funky style but it feels hammy compared to the A). The set smooches home with Rance Allen and Louise McCord. Ace showed the Louise McCord US album "A Tribute To Mahalia Jackson" on the last page of their "The Gospel Truth: The Gospel Soul and Funk of Stax Records" CD booklet in 2010. Electric Organs and Sunday-Morning references fill her lovely "Reflections" (no giving up - keep on keeping on) coming into the back-stretch with her backing singers testifying on "There's No Need To Cry". God will heal your problems – McCord's rich voice filled with conviction as the love-ballad floats out of your speakers clear as a bell. 

For sure, much of what is on "The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection" will only be for a limited audience, but for STAX nuts like me and others even remotely interested in Soul, Funk and the occasional Righteous Groove that sometimes sidled up to those Genres – then this US 2020 2CD set on the wonderful Craft Recordings reissue label is a must own and a nice discovery all in one. 

Praise the Lord and ain't that the Truth, Gospel or otherwise…

"Taylored In Silk" by JOHNNIE TAYLOR – US Album from June 1973 on Stax Records (July 1975 in the UK) Plus Bonus Tracks (May 2011 'Stax Remasters' Expanded Edition CD Reissue - Joe Tarantino Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…I've Got Someone I Can Call My Very Own…"

Now here comes a Stax-Soulful goody – released Stateside first (delayed all the way until 1975 in the UK) – the original American vinyl LP hit the US R&B charts in early July 1973 and quickly proved a winner, eventually settling at No. 3 on the LP charts (back in the days when albums shifted genuinely huge numbers). 

It was held in affection then and remains so to this day. Hardly surprising then that the Taylor in Silk was due a digital dust off and the new custodians of the Stax Records legacy (Concord Music Group of the USA) have done a nice job on this CD reminding us of its lurve charms (the 8-track album is augmented with a generous Six Bonus Tracks - the A&B-sides of three stand-alone US Stax 45s). Here are the velveteen details...

Released Monday 16 May 2011 in the UK - "Taylored In Silk" by JOHNNIE TAYLOR on Concord Music Group, Inc/Stax 0888072328754 (Barcode 0888072328754) is part of the 2011/2012 'Stax Remasters' Series and breaks down as follows (55:58 minutes):

1. We're Getting Careless With Our Love [Side 1]

2. Starting All Over Again

3. Cheaper To Keep Her

4. Talk To Me

5. I Believe In You (You Believe In Me) [Side 2]

6. One Thing Wrong With My Baby

7. I Can Read Between The Lines

8. This Bitter Earth

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "Taylored In Silk" by JOHNNIE TAYLOR – released June 1973 in the USA on Stax Records STS-3014 and July 1975 in the UK on Stax Records STX 1012

9. Hijackin' Love

10. Love In The Streets (Ain't Good As The Love At Home) – Tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B-sides of an August 1971 US 45 on Stax STA-0096 (no UK issue)

11. Standing In For Jody

12. Shackin' Up – Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of a January 1972 US 45 on Stax STA-0114 and May 1972 UK on Stax 2025 083

13. Doing My Own Thing (Part 1)

14. Doing My Own Thing (Part 2) – Tracks 13 and 14 are the A&B-sides of an April 1972  US 45 on Stax STA-0122 (no UK issue)

The new 12-page booklet has very knowledgeable and affectionate liner notes by BILL DAHL who did the exceptional liner notes on Bear Family’s 1961-1970 "Sweet Soul Music" CDs (10 volumes) and their 1945-1960 "Blowing The Fuse" series on R'n'B music (16 volumes). I’ve reviewed nearly all of them. You also get the original artwork on the front and rear of the booklet, musician and session details etc. But it's a shame the booklet doesn’t go any further. There’s no new photos, no memorabilia - and it makes the inlay feel workmanlike at best – even a little dull – when it should have spread its wings a little. But the big news is the SOUND…

I've reviewed the other titles in this new 'Stax Remasters' Series (see list below) and duly raved about the fabulous sound quality on all – especially after years of lacklustre reissues in jewel cases and repro digipaks. Well this is the same. 24-bit remastered from the first generation tapes at JOE TARANTINO Mastering in Berkeley, California – the audio quality is fantastic – which of course makes you reassess every song – and here it gives incredible clarity to these hugely underrated slices of Seventies Soul.

The whole album is good and very much in a smoochy mode – songs about lovin' and cheatin' and not getting' caught cheatin' etc. "I Believe In You (You Believe In Me)" made the top spot on the US R'n'B charts in June 1973 (lyrics above) while the lovely cover of Prince Phillip Mitchell's "Starting All Over Again" is superlative Stax Soul.  The witty lyrics of Mack Rice' "Cheaper To Keep Her" still bring a smile to a face and a tap to a foot - while the sound quality on the mid-tempo "I Can Read Between The Lines" is gorgeous.

And the funkier singles are a huge treat – off-setting the slightly loverman feel of the album. "Hijackin' Love" made Number 10 on the US R'n'B charts – and with its fantastically punchy funk rhythm – it's easy to hear why. The "…using me for a spare…" choppy Soul of "Standing In For Jody" is great - as is the JB funk of its wicked B-side "Shackin' Up" (another song about another woman's husband). The guitar opening of "Doing My Own Thing" makes you think you’ve stumbled on a John Lee Hooker Blues session, but it then settles into a great Soulful groove which brings the guitar back later. "Part 2" feels like a great James Brown B-side you’re glad you’ve rediscovered. Very, very good indeed…

To sum up – this is as superlative value-for-money reissue with top-notch Seventies Soul and sound quality that trumps everything that’s gone before…

PS: STAX REMASTERS Series to 2014 are (all reviewed):

1. Green Onions – BOOKER T & THE M.G.’S (1962)

2. McLemore Avenue - BOOKER T. & THE M.G.'S (1970)

3. Woman To Woman - SHIRLEY BROWN (1975)

4. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - THE DRAMATICS (1972)

5. Born Under A Bad Sign - ALBERT KING (1967)

6. I’ll Play The Blues For You – ALBERT KING (1971)

7. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself - THE STAPLE SINGERS (1972)

8. Taylored In Silk - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1973)

9. Do The Funky Chicken - RUFUS THOMAS (1970)

"Born Under A Bad Sign" by ALBERT KING (June 2013 'Stax Remasters' Expanded Edition CD – Joe Tarantino Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Hard Luck And Trouble…"

I’ve been collecting and reviewing this “Stax Remasters” series since they first started to appear in May 2011 - and this is only release number 9 – but what a belter it is.

USA released June 2013 - "Born Under A Bad Sign" by ALBERT KING on Stax/Concord Music Group STCX-34334-02 (Barcode 888072343344) offers his 1967 Stax LP Remastered onto CD plus Five Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and breaks down as follows (47:00 minutes):

1. Born Under A Bad Sign [Side 1]

2. Crosscut Saw

3. Kansas City

4. Oh, Pretty Woman

5. Down Don't Bother Me

6. The Hunter

7. I Almost Lost My Mind

8. Personal Manager

9. Laundromat Blues

10. As The Years Go Passing By

11. The Very Thought Of You

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Born Under A Bad Sign" – released August 1967 in the USA on Stax Records S-723 (no UK release)

BONUS TRACKS (All Previously Unreleased):

12. Born Under A Bad Sign (Take 1 – Alternate)

13. Crosscut Saw (Take 1 – Alternate)

14. The Hunter (Take 1 – Alternate)

15. Personal Manager (Take 15 – Alternate)

16. Untitled Instrumental

The 16-page booklet has typically insightful and fun liner notes from Chicago's resident Blues and R 'n' B writing genius BILL DAHL – a man whose talent and passion for the music has graced literally hundreds of reissues and major Box Sets. The pages that follow Dahl reproduce Michael Point's observations from the 2002 CD reissue – then the original liner notes on the back of the 1967 LP - and finally musician and reissue credits. JOE TARANTINO has handled the remaster (as he has for the whole "Stax Remasters" series) and it's superb – full of life and clarity. There's hiss (as there always is on Stax sessions) – but it doesn't detract from the listen – if anything – it feels more live-in-your-living-room for it.

"Born Under A Bad Sign" opens with that title track winner (surely his signature tune) and follows it with another – "Crosscut Saw". Real fast you notice the tight and uber cool band – Stax House players BOOKER T & THE M.G.'s (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr and Booker T. Jones) themselves backed up by the fabulous MEMPHIS HORNS (Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love and Joe Arnold). It's as classic Stax Blues as you can get (Soul too). "Kansas City" still sounds slightly out of place but "The Hunter" turned FREE on and "Personal Manager" is just genius. Unappreciated gems include his cover of Fenton Robinson's "As The Years Go Passing By" and his barroom bluesy take on the crooner classic "The Very Thought Of You" (a 1934 classic).

With the CD having only 47:00 minutes playing time – the 7" single edit of "Personal Manager" (which excludes Albert's guitar solo) could easily have been tagged on – especially as it's actually one of the best tracks on here. But what we do get is a genuine thrill for King fans – a unreleased take. You can see why it was canned though – it runs a tad too fast and looses that fabulous Bluesy feel the master take has. And I love the song’s slyly salacious lyrics "...I want to be your milk man every morning…and your ice-cream man when the day is through…" In fact the other Take 1 Alternates are brilliantly recorded – really clear – you can hear he's getting a feel for the songs but the power on each is there – right from the start. Even the short but untitled 'instrumental' is a winner.

Great stuff – and a must buy…

PS: "STAX REMASTERS" Series to August 2014 are (all reviewed):

1. Green Onions – BOOKER T & THE M.G.’S (1962)

2. McLemore Avenue - BOOKER T. & THE M.G.'S (1970)

3. Woman To Woman - SHIRLEY BROWN (1975)

4. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - THE DRAMATICS (1972)

5. Born Under A Bad Sign - ALBERT KING (1967)

6. I'll Play The Blues For You – ALBERT KING (1971)

7. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself - THE STAPLE SINGERS (1972)

8. Taylored In Silk - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1973)

9. Do The Funky Chicken - RUFUS THOMAS (1970)

"Stax Singles Volume 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (February 2017 Stax/Craft Recordings 6CD Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Deep Down Inside..."

Having bought, loved and reviewed in-depth the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Brick Block Reissue Versions of Volumes 1 to 3 in this extraordinary Stax Records Singles Series (originally issued in 12” x 12” Boxes in 1991, 1993 and 1994) - it's taken some time for my rotund tum-tum to get its wriggle-lines around this latest additional tome - "Stax Singles Volume 4" - issued February 2017.

Offering die-hard punters 145 Tracks beautifully Remastered by JOE TARANTINO and ROGER ARMSTRONG onto 6CDs (also in a Brick Block Box Set) – it comes accompanied by an 80-page booklet with 4 new essays from compilation producers and Soul aficionados BILL BELMONT, ROB BOWMAN and ALEC PALAO. The music hits many genres outside of the straight-up Stax Soul contained in the first three volumes. Now we get Country, Blues, Rock, Pop, Easy Listening, Gospel and of course liberal doses of 60ts and 70ts R&B, Funk, Rare Groove and Deep Soul. The awful Disc 4 which concentrates on the 'Enterprise' label offshoot lets the side down terribly - coming over like some poor man's Burt Bacharach rejects listen - track after track of saccharine pap with only three or four uplifters.

Info: although the 80-page mini booklet is chock-full of info, photos of those gorgeous American 7" single labels and period memorabilia - the track-lists from Page 5 onwards take the lazy way out and don't actually tell you what the singles are B-sides to? So for collectors I've provided that info in this review for the first time. There's a ton of sexiness (and some clunkers) to wade through, so let's have at those 45 details...

US released 7 February 2017 - "Stax Singles Volume 4: Rarities & The Best Of The Rest" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Stax/Craft Recordings CR00043 (Barcode 888072029712) is a 6CD Brick Block Box Set with 145-Tracks. All catalogue numbers and release dates listed below are for US 7" singles on Stax Records and its label offshoots – Ardent, Chalice, Enterprise, The Gospel Truth, H.I.P., Satellite, Truth, Volt and We Produce and it plays out as follows:

Disc 1 - 29 Tracks from 1960 to 1968 (72:09 minutes):

1. Deep Down Inside - CARLA & RUFUS (August 1960 on Satellite 102, B-side to "Cause I Love You")

2. Yeah, Yea-ah - RUFUS and FRIEND (June 1961 on Atco 45-6199, B-side to "I Didn't Believe")

3. All The Way - PRINCE CONLEY (July 1961 on Satellite S-108, B-side to "I'm Going Home")

4. I'll Never Give Her Up (My Friend) - THE CANES (April 1962 on Stax S-123, B-side to "Why Should I Suffer With The Blues")

5. Just Enough To Hurt Me - THE ASTORS (July 1963 on Stax S-139, B-side to "What Can It Be")

6. I Found A Brand New Love - EDDIE KIRK (September 1963 on Volt 111, B-side to "Them Bones")

7. Fine And Mellow - RUFUS THOMAS (September 1963 on Stax S-140, B-side to "Walking The Dog")

8. Fannie Mae - BOOKER T. & THE MG'S (December 1963 on Stax S-142, B-side to "Mo' Onions")

9. Sassy - FLOYD NEWMAN (December 1963 on Stax S-143, B-side to "Frog Stomp")

10. I Want To Get Married - RUFUS THOMAS (January 1964 on Stax S-144, B-side to "Can Your Monkey Do The Dog")

11. That's The Way That It Goes - BOBBY MARCHAN (January 1964 on Volt 45-113, B-side to "You Won't Do Right")

12. Shake Up - THE COBRAS (March 1964 on Stax S-148, B-side to "Restless")

13. You Belong To Her - BARBARA AND THE BROWNS (March 1964 on Stax S-150, B-side to "Big Party")

14. Watchdog - DOROTHY WILLIAMS (June 1964 on Volt 45-118, B-side to "Closer To My Baby")

15. Free For All - BARACUDAS (December 1964 on Volt 123, B-side to "Yank Me (Doodle)") - Both sides are instrumentals

16. I Don't Want Trouble - BARBARA AND THE BROWNS (January 1965 on Stax S-164, B-side to "My Lover")

17. Sweet Thing - GORGEOUS GEORGE (February 1965 on Stax S-165, B-side to "Biggest Fool In Town")

18. I Found Out - THE ASTORS (May 1965 on Stax S-170, B-side to "Candy")

19. We're Tight - RUFUS & CARLA THOMAS (August 1965 on Stax S-176, B-side to "When You Move You Lose")

20. Chicken Scratch - RUFUS THOMAS (September 1965 on Stax S-178, B-side to "The World Is Round")

21. Weak Spot - RUBY JOHNSON (March 1966 on Volt V-133, B-side to "I'll Run Your Hurt Away")

22. Talkin' Bout True Love - RUFUS THOMAS (September 1966 on Stax 45-200, B-side to "Sister's Got A Boyfriend")

23. If You Give Up What You Got (You'll See What You Lost) - MABLE JOHN (November 1966 on Stax S-205, B-side to "You're Taking Up Another Man's Place")

24. A Small Portion Of Your Love - SAM and DAVE (January 1967 on Stax S-210, B-side to "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby")

25. Keep On Keeping On - RUBY JOHNSON (April 1967 on Volt 45-147, B-side to "If I Ever Needed Love (I Sure Do Need It Now)")

26. Greasy Spoon - RUFUS THOMAS (June 1967 on Stax S-221, B-side to "Sophisticated Sissy")

27. Left Over Love - MABLE JOHN (September 1967 on Stax S-234, B-side to "Don't Hit Me No More")

28. Girl, You Have My Heart Singing - OLLIE & THE NIGHTINGALES (February 1968 on Stax S-245, B-side to "I Got A Sure Thing")

29. Don't Get Caught - MABLE JOHN (March 1968 on Stax 45-249, B-side to "Able Mable")

Disc 2 - 25 Tracks from 1968 to 1971 (75:22 minutes):

1. I'm So Glad You're Back - SHIRLEY WALTON (January 1968 on Enterprise 45-001, B-side to "I Was Born To Love You")

2. We've Just Been Feeling Bad - DELANEY & BONNIE [Bramlett] (May 1969 on Stax STA 0003, B-side to "It's Been A Long Time Coming")

3. I Don't Know - LINDA LYNDELL (June 1968 on Volt VOA-4001, B-side to "What A Man")

4. Love-Eye-Tis - JUDY CLAY & WILLIAM BELL (July 1968 on Stax STA-0005, B-side to "Private Number")

5. Remove These Clouds - JUDY CLAY (September 1968 on Stax STA-0006, B-side to "Bed Of Roses")

6. Stay With Us - THE STAPLE SINGERS (August 1968 on Stax STA-0007, B-side to "Long Walk To D.C.")

7. So Hard To Get Along With - RUFUS THOMAS (August 1968 on Stax STA-0010, B-side to "Funky Mississippi")

8. I Like What You're Doing To Me - JEANNE AND THE DARLINGS (September 1968 on Volt VOA-4005, B-side to "It's Unbelievable (How You Control My Soul)")

9. Over Easy - BOOKER T. & THE MG'S (October 1968 on Stax STA-0013, B-side to "Hang 'Em High")

10. Shouldn't I Love Him - MABLE JOHN (November 1968 on Stax STA-0016, B-side to "Running Out")

11. Left Over Love - WILLIAM BELL & JUDY CLAY (November 1968 on Stax STA-0017, B-side to "My Baby Specializes")

12. Sweet Things You Do - JIMMY HUGHES (January 1969 on Volt VOA-4008, B-side to "Let 'Em Down Baby")

13. Grab A Handful - ART JERRY MILLER (March 1969 on Enterprise ENA-9002, B-side to "Finger Lickin' Good")

14. Consider Me - EDDIE FLOYD (May 1969 on Stax STA-0036, B-side to "Don't Tell Your Mama (Where You've Been)")

15. Soul Clap '69 - BOOKER T. & THE MG'S (May 1969 on Stax STA-0037, B-side to "Mrs. Robinson")

16. Standing In The Need Of Your Love - JEANNIE AND THE DARLINGS (June 1969 on Volt VOA-4015, B-side to "It's Time To Pay For The Fun (We've Had)")

17. I Thank You - THE BAR-KAYS (February 1970 on Volt VOA-4033, B-side to "Song And Dance")

18. Make It Good - THE SOUL CHILDREN (February 1970 on Stax STA-0062, B-side to "Hold On, I'm Coming")

19. I'll Be Your Anything - OLLIE AND THE NIGHTINGALES (March 1970 on Stax STA-0065, B-side to "Bracing Myself For The Fall")

20. Let Me Ride - WILLIAM BELL (July 1970 on Stax STA-0070, B-side to "Lonely Soldier")

21. Sunday Sermon - BOOKER T. & THE MG'S (May 1070 on Stax STA-0073, B-side to "Something")

22. Hi De Ho (That Old Sweet Roll) - CARLA THOMAS (September 1970 on Stax STA-0080, B-side to "I Loved You Like I Love My Very Life")

23. A Love Affair That Bears No Pain - SHACK [William] (November 1970 on Volt VOA-4051, B-side to "Too Many Lovers")

24. Just A Little Overcome - THE NIGHTINGALES (May 1971 on Stax STA-0091, B-side to "I Don't Want To Be Like My Daddy")

25. Mannish Boy - THE NEWCOMERS (July 1971 on Stax STA-0099, B-side to "Pin The Tail On The Donkey")

Disc 3 - 21 Tracks from 1971 to 1975 (74:59 minutes):

1. Let Love Fill Your Heart - ILANA (August 1971 on Volt VOA-4064, B-side to "Where Would You Be Today")

2. Ridin' On Love's Merry-Go-Round - THE SOUL CHILDREN (August 1971 on Stax STA-0102, B-side to "Got To Get Away From It All")

3. I Can't Win For Losing - HOT SAUCE [Lead Vocals Rhonda Washington] (September 1971 on Volt VOA-4067, B-side to "I'll Kick A Brick (About My Man)")

4. Ain't Nobody Like My Baby - LEE SAIN (March 1972 on We Produce XPA-1806, B-side to "She's My Old Lady Too") - miscredited in booklet as

 1086

5. Echoes From The Past - HOT SAUCE (March 1972 on Volt VOA-4076, B-side to "Bring It Home (And Give It To Me)")

6. Did My Baby Call - THE MAD LADS (March 1972 on Volt VOA-4080, B-side to "Let Me Repair Your Heart")

7. Baby I'm-A Want You - ISAAC HAYES and DAVID PORTER (April 1972 on Enterprise ENA-9049, B-side to "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)")

8. Pick Up The Pieces - JEAN KNIGHT (July 1972 on Stax STA-0136, B-side to "Helping Man")

9. Stop Teasing Me - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (August 1972 on Stax STA-0142, B-side to "Stop Doggin' Me")

10. Type Thang - ISAAC HAYES (September 1972 on Enterprise ENA-9058, B-side to "Theme From The Men (instrumental)")

11. In Love With You - JOHN GARY WILLIAMS (September 1972 on Stax STA-0146, B-side of "My Sweet Love")

12. Since I Lost My Baby's Love - MAJOR LANCE (December 1972 on Volt VOA-4085, B-side to "Ain't No Sweat")

13. Mama's Baby (Daddy's Maybe) - HOT SAUCE (February 1973 on Volt VOA-4089, B-side to "What Do You See In Her?")

14. Poem On The School House Wall - THE SOUL CHILDREN (June 1973 on Stax STA-0170, B-side to "Love Is A Hurtin' Thing")

15. That Makes Christmas Day - RUFUS THOMAS (December 1973 on Stax STA-0187, B-side to "I'll Be Your Santa Baby")

16. What's Your Thing - THE STAPLE SINGERS (April 1974 on Stax STA-0213, B-side to "Whicha Way Did It Go" by Pops Staples)

17. Yes Sir Brother - SHIRLEY BROWN (August 1974 on Truth TRA-3206, B-side to "Woman To Woman")

18. Funny - HOT SAUCE (January 1975 on Volt VON-4114, B-side to "I Can't Let You Go")

19. Let's Make A Deal - FREDERICK KNIGHT (January 1975 on Truth TRA-3216, B-side to "I Betcha Didn't Know That")

20. Can't Give You Up (I Love You Too Much) - THE GREEN BROTHERS (January 1975 on Truth TRA-3219, B-side to "Dy-No-Mite (Did You Say My Name)")

21. Just Ain't No Love (Without You Here) - JOHN GARY WILLIAMS (May 1975 on Truth TRA-3227, B-side to "Come What May")

Disc 4 - 22 Tracks from 1969 to 1975 (70:10 minutes):

1. The Ballad Of Otis B. Watson - SID SELVIDGE (September 1969 on Enterprise ENA-9005, A-side, written by Don Nix)

2. Black Hands White Cotton - THE CABOOSE (May 1970 on Enterprise ENA-9015, A-side, No. 79 on Pop Charts)

3. Love's Not Hard To Find - DALLAS COUNTRY (July 1970 on Enterprise ENA-9016, B-side to "Small Vacation", written by Don Nix and Ramsey Horton)

4. April - CASPER PETERS (August 1970 on Enterprise ENA-9018, B-side to "Find My Way", written by Don Nix)

5. Reaching For A Rainbow - CLARK SULLIVAN (September 1970 on Enterprise ENA-9022, A-side)

6. I Wanna Be Your Baby - BILLY ECKSTINE (September 1970 on Enterprise ENA-9025, B-side to "Name Of Your Sorrow", written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter)

7. Why Did It Take So Long - CHUCK BORIS (August 1970 on Enterprise ENA-9023, A-side)

8. Why Did It Take So Long - BARBARA LEWIS (November 1970 on Enterprise ENA-9027, B-side to "Ask The Lonely")

9. Gypsy - FINLEY BROWN (August 1971 on Enterprise ENA-9035, A-side)

10. Slip Away - O.B. McCLINTON (February 1972 on Enterprise ENA-9044, A-side)

11. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby - BILLY ECKSTINE (March 1972 on Enterprise ENA-9046, A-side)

12. Good Times Are Coming - BEN ATKINS (April 1972 on Enterprise ENA-9048, B-side to "Day By Day")

13. Some Other Man - RIVER CITY STREET BAND (June 1972 on Enterprise ENA-9052, A-side)

14. Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You - O.B. McCLINTON (September 1972 on Enterprise ENA-9059, A-side - No. 37 on the Country charts)

15. Would I Be Better Gone? - BIG BEN (February 1973 on Enterprise ENA-9061, A-side)

16. Black Cat Moan - DON NIX (April 1973 on Enterprise ENA-9067, A-side - a Don Nix song)

17. She's A Friend Of Mine - DON NIX (October 1973 on Enterprise ENA-9083, A-side- a Don Nix song)

18. Rock N' Roll Warning - LARRY RASPBERRY And THE HIGHSTEPPERS (April 1974 on Enterprise ENA-9099, A-side)

19. Conquistadores '74 - CHICO HAMILTON (June 1974 on Enterprise ENA-9102, A-side - a Chico Hamilton song)

20. The Way I'm Needing You - CLIFF COCHRAN (June 1974 on Enterprise ENA-9103, A-side)

21. Let's Get Together - CONNIE EATON (July 1974 on Enterprise ENA-9105, A-side)

22. The Way I'm Needing You - KAREN CASEY (April 1975 on Enterprise ENA-9111, A-side - Produced by Donald 'Duck' Dunn of Booker T. & The MG's)

Disc 5 - 26 Tracks from 1966 to 1974 (72:01 minutes):

1. Stop, Quit It - THE POOR LITTLE RICH KIDS (December 1966 on H.I.P H-102, B-side to "She's The Best Girl In Town")

2. Cigarettes - LONNIE DUVALL (April 1967 on H.I.P. Records H-104, A-side)

3. It's Mighty Clear - THE POOR LITTLE RICH KIDS (Cancelled December 1966 US 45 on H.I.P. H-105, intended B-side to "I Who Have Nothing")

4. Warm City Baby - THE HONEY JUG (June 1967 on H.I.P. H-106, A-side)

5. For A Little While - THE GOODIES (August 1967 on H.I.P. H-109, A-side)

6. For Your Love - THE HONEY JUG (August 1967 on H.I.P. H-110, A-side)

7. Groovy Day - KANGAROO'S (1968 on H.I.P. H-113, A-side)

8. And I Love You - BOBBY WHITLOCK (June 1968 on H.I.P. HIA-8001, B-side to "Raspberry Jug")

9. Smell Of Incense - SOUTHWEST F.O.B. (September 1968 on H.I.P. HIA-8002, A-side, No. 56 on the Pop Charts)

10. Condition Red - THE GOODIES (November 1968 on H.I.P. HIA-8005, A-side, No. 46 on the Pop Charts)

11. Family Portrait - BILLY LEE RILEY (October 1968 on H.I.P. HIA-8006, A-side)

12. The Children Have Your Tongue - THIS GENERATION (December 1968 on H.I.P. HIA-8007, A-side)

13. Show Me Your Soul - BILLY LEE RILEY (February 1969 on H.I.P. HIA-8011, A-side)

14. Day In And Out - THE WATERS (March 1969 on H.I.P. HIA-8012, A-side)

15. Hey Jack (Don't Hijack My Plane) - THE VILLAGE SOUND (March 1969 on H.I.P. HIA-8013, A-side)

16. Cool My Desire - THE CHEQUES (April 1969 on H.I.P. HIA-8014, A-side)

17. Goodies - THE GOODIES (June 1969 on H.I.P. HIA-8016, A-side)

18. Miss Rita Famous - PARIS PILOT (October 1969 on H.I.P. HIA-8017, A-side)

19. Someone Something - THE KNOWBODY ELSE (October 1969 on H.I.P. HIA-8020, B-side to "Let Us Pray")

20. Feel Alright - CARGOE (July 1972 on Ardent ADA-2901, A-side)

21. In The Street - BIG STAR (August 1972 on Ardent ADA-2902, B-side to "When My Baby's Beside Me")

22. I Love You Anyway - CARGOE (January 1973 on Ardent ADA-2903, A-side)

23. Say What you Mean - THE HOT DOGS (October 1973 on Ardent ADA-2906, A-side)

24. O My Soul - BIG STAR (April 1974 on Ardent ADA-2909, A-side)

25. I Walk The Line - THE HOT DOGS (May 1974 on Ardent ADA-2910, A-side, a Johnny Cash cover)

26. September Gurls - BIG STAR (May 1974 on Ardent ADA-2912, A-side)

Disc 6 - 22 Tracks from 1965 to 1974 (74:09 minutes):

1. Assassination - DIXIE NIGHTINGALES (November 1965 on Chalice 102, A-side)

2. Hush Hush - DIXIE NIGHTINGALES (November 1965 on Chalice 102, B-side to "Assassination")

3. I Don't Know - DIXIE NIGHTINGALES (1966 on Chalice 103, A-side)

4. Wade In The Water - THE STARS OF VIRGINIA (1966 on Chalice 104, A-side)

5. Forgive These Fools - DIXIE NIGHTINGALES (1966 on Chalice 105, A-side)

6. Our Freedom Song (Free At Last) - THE JUBILEE HUMMINGBIRDS (1966 on Chalice 106, A-side)

7. Press My Dying Pillow - THE JUBILEE HUMMINGBIRDS (1966 on Chalice 106, B-side to "Our Freedom Song (Free At Last)")

8. God's Promise - THE PATTERSONAIRES (1966 on Chalice 107, A-side)

9. Hello Sunshine - REV. MACEO WOODS and THE CHRISTIAN TABERNACLE BAPTIST CHURCH CHOIR (October 1969 on Volt VOA-4025, A-side, No. 28 on the R&B Charts)

10. Tryin' Times - ROEBUCK "POP" STAPLES (March 1970 on Stax STA-0064, B-side of "Black Boy")

11. His Love Will Always Be - TERRY LYNN COMMUNITY CHOIR (May 1972 on The Gospel Truth GTA-1020, A-side)

12. Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You (Don't Let The Devil Fool You) - REVEREND W. BERNARD AVANT JR., and THE ST. JAMES GOSPEL CHOIR (May 1972 on The Gospel Truth GTA-1203, A-side)

13. There's Gonna Be A Showdown - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (June 1972 on The Gospel Truth GTA-1204, A-side)

14. That Will Be Good Enough For Me - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (June 1972 on The Gospel Truth GTA-1204, B-side to "There's Gonna Be A Showdown")

15. The Magnificent Sanctuary Band (Marching For The Man) - REVEREND MACEO WOODS and THE CHRISTIAN TABERNACLE CONCERT CHOIR (March 1972 on The Gospel Truth GTA-1205, A-side)

16. Better Get A Move On - LOUISE McCORD (July 1972 on Gospel Truth GM-01030-PL, A-side, Promo-Only)

17. Satisfied - CHARLES MAY & ANNETTE MAY THOMAS (January 1973 on Gospel Truth GTA-1206, A-side)

18. I Got To Be Myself - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (March 1973 on Gospel Truth GTA-1208, A-side, No. 31 on the R&B charts)

19. He Included Me - THE PEOPLE'S CHOIR OF OPERATION PUSH UNDER THE DIRECTION OF REVEREND MARVIN YANCY (September 1973 on Gospel Truth GTA-1210, A-side)

20. We're The Salt Of The Earth - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (May 1974 on Gospel Truth GTA-1216, A-side)

21. Reflections - LOUISE McCORD (October 1974 on Gospel Truth GTA-1217, A-side)

22. Ain't No Need Of Crying - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (October 1974 on Truth TRA-3210, A-side, No. 61 on the R&B charts)

Content: the usual big Stax Soul names are all here - Booker T. & The MG's, Rufus Thomas, William Bell and Judy Clay, Mable John, Ollie And The Nightingales, The Staple Singers, Jimmy Hughes, Eddie Floyd, Isaac Hayes (and David Porter), Johnnie Taylor, The Bar-Kays, Barbara Lewis, Major Lance, Jean Knight, The Mad Lads, The Soul Children and many more. But it comes as a shock to see Rock acts like Big Star, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Bobby Whitlock and Don Nix nestling alongside white obscuro Pop acts like The Caboose, The Knowbody Else and The Cheques. There's Jazz with Art Jerry Miller and Chico Hamilton while crooner Billy Eckstine and Rock ‘n’ Roller Billy Lee Riley addle up to rarely seen Deep Soul types like William Shack, Shirley Walton, The Newcomers and the funky-funky Gospel grooves of The Rance Allen Group.

Between their debut 45 in 1959 and final releases towards the end of 1975 – Stax Records and its subsidiary labels issued over 600 sevens – enough to full 30CDs full of flipsides. So compiler and Stax scholar Rob Bowman has chosen just 75 for Discs 1 to 3 – agony he tells us in the liner notes – but also justified choices because he maintains they're comparable to any other company's A's – and he'd be right. Every disc here is a revelation. Part of the joy too is of course the 'dip in and find out what's cooking' element. So much of this music is obscure and forgotten when it absolutely shouldn't be. That's the good news. The bad is that Disc 4 has some truly awful stuff on it and Disc 5 goes so off-kilter that some may find the listen a tad underwhelming and out of sorts. Disc 4's 22-Tracks of A's and B's are dedicated entirely to the 'Enterprise' label offshoot that began in 1968 and took its name from the popular Star Trek TV Series and its Starship Enterprise (to boldly go where no other label had gone before etc - most of its output didn't go anywhere). Disc 5 goes into the Rock, Rock 'n' Roll and Country oddities that turned up on more offshoots – the H.I.P. and Ardent labels - while Disc 6 gives us a 22-track exploration of the label's deep Gospel leanings – tracks that appeared on the Chalice, The Gospel Truth and Truth labels (as well as one or two on Stax and Volt). It's an amazing haul whatever way you look at it.

Specifics: to see B-sides like Judy Clay & William Bell's "Love-Eye-Tis", The Staple Singers' "Stay With Us" and the Love, Freedom and Peace of "What's Your Thing" (written by Mack Rice), Ilana's Northern Soul heartache-filled monster "Let Love Fill Your Heart" (as amazing as the grooving A-side "Where Would You Be Today"), the Pops Roebuck Staples cover of Donny Hathaway's "Tryin' Times" and even something as ordinary as Isaac Hayes' "Type Thang" (from 1972) finally get centre stage on CD is a thrill (I've been after these elusive buggers for digital decades).

But what also impresses more than the sheer scale of music on offer here (Discs 1 to 3) is the quality of it. It seems that when it came to Atlantic, Motown and Stax Records - the flip sides were just as nasty/cool as the plug-sides. Take Lee Sain's fabulous torch-ballad "Ain't Nobody Like My Baby" as he reliably informs us that ordinary words can't describe his woman or Jean Knight's funky "Pick Up The Pieces" sounding like a solid follow-up to "Mr. Big Stuff" or Major Lance's joyful buckets-of-tears dancer "Since I Lost My Baby's Love" – all fabarooney. Stunning songwriter Bettye Crutcher provides "Mama's Baby (Daddy's Maybe)" for Rhonda Washington as Lead Singer with Hot Sauce - a great keyboard/brass funky dancer (keep your woman sweet). She excels again on the gorgeous ballad of "Funny" - an “I'm over you baby” smoocher that will burrow its way into your heart. Genuine sensations come with not one but two barnstormers from The Soul Children featuring the staggering guttural vocals of John Colbert (known as J. Blackfoot) and Anita Louis on "Ridin' On Love's Merry-Go-Round" and the fantastic "Poem On The School House Door" - Rob Bowman describing their output as something that '...ranks with the greatest deep soul records ever released.'

After the sheer Soul high of Discs 1 to 3 - the fourth CD comes as a massive disappointment - an array of truly awful Pop cack. It opens with "The Ballad Of Otis B. Watson" from Sid Selvidge - a sort of Terry Jacks and Jimmy Webb schmaltz tune about someone's relative dying. The white-boy Rock-Funk band The Caboose and their right-on glory-glory hallelujah "Black Hands White Cotton" actually made No 79 on the US Pop charts - but its live audience overdub and fay earnestness sounds cringing and false now. Unfortunately the Don Nix connection to both the Dallas County and Casper Peters tracks does little to rescue them from their awful saccharine nature. Poor old Billy Eckstine has a set of backing singers inflicted on his "I Wanna Be Your Baby" as he tries to croon sincerely through a rare miss by the duo of Isaac Hayes and David Porter. A moment's respite comes in the Three Dog Night/Steppenwolf Rock of Finley's Brown's heavy-heavy "Gypsy" but again it feels like black people trying to do Led Zeppelin three years after the event and not really knowing how. But Country boy O.B. McClinton and his ludicrously bad cover of Clarence Carter's "Slip Away" comes dangerously close to ending up on a Kenny Everett LP for 'worst records ever made'.

Disc 5 first concentrates on the H.I.P. Records implant for its first 19-tracks - the Memphis Sound of Stax blatantly going after the British Invasion audience with Pop, Bubblegum, Girl Groups and even some Freakbeat. Tracks 20 to 26 wrap up Disc 5 with the Ardent Label featuring the mighty Big Star. Back to HIP - Lonnie Duvall's "Cigarettes" is excellent 60ts Pop but the unreleased "It's Mighty Clear" by The Poor Little Rich Kids is a sub-Byrds knock-off. Better is the great harmonies in "Warm City Baby" by The Honey Jug and the label's bestsellers - the girl group The Goodies and their very Motown shuffler "For A Little While". Psych and Freakbeat fans will dig the out-there take by The Honey Jug on Graham Gouldman's Yardbirds gift "For Your Love" - a guitar and organ swirl that is a million miles removed from everything Stax was about. Even cooler is a cover of The West Coast Pop Art Ensemble tune "Smell Of Incense" by Southwest F.O.B. that actually went to No. 56 on the US Pop charts in September 1968. Motorbike take-me-with-you Girl Group drama comes roaring in with "For Your Love" where some hipster crashes his chopper before our sweet-gal can jump on the rear. The flying saucer Rock ‘n’ Roller Billy Lee Riley finally gets a half decent tune with "Family Portrait" where he comes across as a snarling Leon Russell moaning about marital chicanery. Other winners include This Generation getting their teeth into a good groove and message with "The Children Have Your Tongue" - fuzz-guitars and Pop colliding on "Day In And Out" by The Waters while The Cheques need some aqua chucked over their warbling Hammonds on the groovy "Cool My Desire" (only you can put out the fire). The Knowbody Else cut an impressive dash with their busy "Someone Something" - a sort of combo between and Northern Soul and Freakbeat Fuzz - while Cargoe give it some cool Who-driven Power Pop with "Feel Alright" and gorgeous harmonies on "I Love You Anyway". The three Big Star cuts only add candy to a particularly tasty musical cake.

Disc 6 is exclusively Gospel, Freedom songs and Deep Soul often with a slow Bluesy feel (yum yum). It opens with "Assassination" - a deeply felt funereal recounting by The Dixie Nightingales of Bobby Kennedy's horrible murder. The boys then get all marching Staple Singers with the B-side "Hush Hush" too (great female/male split vocals). The Stars Of Virginia insert some superb R&B Swing into the traditional "Wade In The Water" imbibing their rendition with a very Blind Boys Of Alabama soulfulness. Simple and beautiful "Our Freedom Song (Free At Last)" by The Jubilee Hummingbirds is as heartfelt as anything you've ever heard about MLK and buses in Alabama - justice and equality for all. In fact most of the Chalice label stuff is so rare - I don't think I've heard any of this - and Tarantino has done a great mastering job on tapes that have to be showing their age. By the time I get to Pops Staples magnificent cover of Donny Hathaway's "Tryin' Times" - a criminally forgotten solo-single B-side to "Black Boy" from March 1970 - and the gorgeous "His Love Will Always Be" with Terry Lynn giving it some staggering Soul - I'm (forgive the pun) in Seventh Heaven. That Louise McCord winner "Better Get A Move On" is so good that it was reissued by Ace's BGP Records in 2003 on a split UK 7" single with Otis and Carla on the A (BGPS 019).

To sum up - for sure Disc 4 covering Enterprise Records lets the whole magnificent enterprise down terribly (docked a star for that). But the rest of it is the very stuff of 'Reissue Of The Year' par excellence. I got my copy for just under fifty quid and I'm only smarting that Discs 1 to 3 were not extended by three more!

Dig in Soul lovers everywhere and celebrate Stax Records and The Gospel Truth (yet again). Huge kudos to all involved...