LOS ANGELES, Calif.—From the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, the Stax label dominated soul, R&B, gospel, and related genres with a stable of artists who have since become iconic figures in the history of American popular music. Now a part of the Concord Music Group, the Stax catalog is a treasure trove of some of the most visceral and influential recordings of the 20th century. On May 10, 2011, Concord reaches back into that deep catalog to launch Stax Remasters, a series of reissues that cast a new light on classic Stax recordings with the help of 24-bit remastering, rare bonus tracks, and new liner notes to frame the recordings in a historical context.
The first three reissues in the series are:
Booker T. & the MGs: McLemore Avenue (1970)
The Staple Singers: Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (1972)
Johnnie Taylor: Taylored in Silk (1973)
“Stax is a very important label, not only in the history of soul music, but in the history of music in general," says Nick Phillips, Concord's Vice President of Catalog A&R and co- producer of the series with Chris Clough, Concord's Manager of Catalog Development. “We have a number of amazing recordings by Stax in the catalog. This is an opportunity to revisit some of the best of these classic recordings, upgrade the sound quality, and put them in the proper historical perspective that they deserve."
Booker T. & the MGs: McLemore Avenue
Released in January 1970, McLemore Avenue is a tribute to Abbey Road, the landmark recording released by the Beatles the prior summer. McLemore Avenue sets up an interesting cause-and-effect loop by putting an R&B spin on songs by a profoundly innovative British pop-rock band that, ironically, emerged years earlier from the most basic elements of American R&B.
McLemore Avenue was inspired by “my pure fascination and admiration of the work that [the Beatles] had done," says keyboardist Booker T. Jones in the reissue liner notes by music historian Ashley Kahn. “I didn't know their inner workings. I found out later. I had a picture of those guys as a perfect unit. I didn't know that they fought, had arguments, or that they needed referees. When you listen to that music, you think it comes from a perfect union, you know?"
The tribute album “represents a fascinating and musically compelling intersection," says Phillips. “On one hand, you can look at the strength of the Beatles' songs, and how they're such strong songs that they can be successfully adapted—in the right hands—to soulful instrumental versions. At the same time, it is of course a testament to Booker T. & the MGs' creativity and soulfulness and groove. It's not only a very interesting musical intersection, but it's also a very deep and at the same time a very fun listen."
Clearly, Booker T. & the MGs had had plenty of their own opportunities to flex their creative muscles in the studio, having recorded with artists like Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. “But on a record like this," says Clough, “where all the songs were already written and it was just a matter of interpretation, it wasn't work for them. It was an opportunity to put their spin on the songs and just have some fun."
The bonus tracks include seven additional Beatles covers, recorded in sessions separate from those for the McLemore Avenue album. “We figured it made good sense to expand this edition by adding other tracks that Booker T. & the MGs had recorded of Beatles songs over the years," says Phillips. “So the Stax Remasters reissue is not only an expanded edition of McLemore Avenue, it's also a de facto 'Booker T. & the MGs Play the Beatles' collection."
The Staple Singers: Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
Originally released in 1972, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself captures the celebrated family vocal group in what was essentially the third act of their career, according to music historian Rob Bowman. The Staple Singers had initially established themselves as a gospel group in the 1950s, then merged with the folk music closely tied to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and ultimately veered away from protest songs and toward what Mavis Staples termed “message music" in the early and mid-1970s.
“Obviously, there was a lot going on in America—politically and socially—around that time, and the Staple Singers took up the cause," says Clough. “Stax provided a huge platform for that cause, and it worked. It wasn't insincere or disingenuous. It was the real deal. The Staples had taken up the banner at that point."
Be Altitude found a comfortable middle ground between gospel music and secular music. “Some of the messages in their music have that gospel element running through it, but it's a broader message than what you'd find in traditional gospel," says Phillips. “The soul, the gospel, the grooves—all those things blended together—really make for a unique sound that is the Staple Singers."
The two previously unreleased bonus tracks—"Walking in Water Over Our Head" and an alternate version of “Heavy Makes You Happy"—were both recorded at the Muscle Shoals Studios in Alabama in 1970 and 1972, respectively. “We felt that it was appropriate to add these bonus tracks, not only because any undiscovered material by a group as great as the Staple Singers is worthy of a listen," says Phillips, “but also because they're such great performances that they fit right in."
Simply put, says Bowman, “the recording you hold in your hands represents the Staple Singers at the very peak of their career."
Johnnie Taylor: Taylored in Silk
Released in 1973, Taylored in Silk is an ideal example of Taylor's newly expanded and embellished sound, crafted with the help of producer Don Davis, who had united with Taylor a few years earlier, according to the liner notes by Bill Dahl. “As far as Davis was concerned, a fundamental change of sound was in order for Johnnie," says Dahl. “Gone were the savory slow blues in favor of a hard-edged, up-tempo attack that energized [Taylor's] sound like never before."
The issue could well have been regional marketing as much as musicality. “The story goes that Davis was brought in to forge a sound that would be sort of a combination between Northern and Southern soul, and capture the best of both Stax and Motown," says Phillips. “He certainly hit a home run in his work with Johnnie Taylor, especially on this album."
Taylored in Silk underwent “a lot of overdubbing," Dahl notes, “but the end result was a splendidly conceived soul album boasting three major R&B hits within its eight selections... Blues wailer or soul philosopher, silky or gritty, Johnnie Taylor will always be revered as one of the greatest southern soul singers of 'em all."
The six bonus tracks were previously released as singles in the early '70s, “and they're all outstanding performances," says Phillips. “They certainly fit the vibe and the performance quality of the rest of the album."
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