Craft Recordings has been doing great things with the Stax Records catalogue in honor of its 60th anniversary (check out our most recent review of the new Isaac Hayes box set for proof!) - and now, they're continuing a beloved box set series with a new collection of the label's singles.
Continuing the trend established by The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 (released in 1991 and reissued by Rhino in 2016), The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971 (1993, reissued 2014) and The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 3: 1972-1975 (1994, reissued 2015), Stax Singles Volume 4: Rarities & The Best of the Rest is six discs of odds and ends across the Memphis label's diverse catalogue, as well as their various imprint labels over the years.
Covering the breadth of the Stax catalogue, this set promises rare sides from Carla and Rufus Thomas, Booker T. & The MG's, Sam and Dave, Johnnie Taylor, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers and many other notable names you expect from the label. There's also tracks from The Bar-Kays, Delaney & Bonnie (whose first album in 1968 was a Stax album) and Billy Eckstine (whose latter day works were on the Enterprise imprint). Labels on the Stax periphery are covered here too: not only the earliest works from the label (then known as Satellite Records, but works issued on Enterprise, Hip, spiritual labels Gospel Truth and Chalice, and of course Ardent Records, home of power-pop legends Big Star. (Three of their most popular sides, "In the Street," "O My Soul" and "September Gurls," appear on this volume.) Thanks to the scope of the set, Craft includes not only tracks from their owned portion of the Stax catalogue but also licenses in key early Stax works which are now the purview of Rhino.
The set is rounded out with 80 pages of liner notes, including four new essays from writers Lee Hildebrand, Alec Palao, Bill Belmont (also the set's co-producer) and Rob Bowman, author of Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records. (The first three discs were assembled by Bowman himself.) You can add this to your collection when it's out on February 9 - pre-order links and the full track list are below!
Stax Singles Volume 4: Rarities & The Best of the Rest (Craft Recordings, 2018)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada (TBD)
Disc 1
- Deep Down Inside - Carla & Rufus
- Yeah, Yea-Ah - Rufus and Friend
- All the Way - Prince Conley
- I'll Never Give Her Up - The Canes
- Just Enough to Hurt Me - The Astors
- I Found a Brand New Love - Eddie Kirk
- Fine and Mellow - Rufus Thomas
- Fannie Mae - Booker T. & The MG's
- Sassy - Floyd Newman
- I Want to Get Married - Rufus Thomas
- That's the Way It Goes - Bobby Marchan
- Shake Up - The Cobras
- You Belong to Her - Barbara and The Browns
- Watchdog - Dorothy Williams
- Free for All - Barracudas
- I Don't Want Trouble - Barbara and The Browns
- Sweet Thing - Gorgeous George
- I Found Out - The Astors
- We're Tight - Rufus & Carla Thomas
- Chicken Scratch - Rufus Thomas
- Weak Spot - Ruby Johnson
- Talkin' 'Bout True Love - Rufus Thomas
- If You Give Up What You Got (You'll See What You Lost) - Mable John
- A Small Portion of Your Love - Sam and Dave
- Keep On Keeping On - Ruby Johnson
- Greasy Spoon - Rufus Thomas
- Left Over Love - Mable John
- Girl, You Have My Heart Singing - Ollie & The Nightingales
- Don't Get Caught - Mable John
Disc 2
- I'm So Glad You're Back - Shirley Walton
- We've Just Been Feeling Bad - Delaney & Bonnie
- I Don't Know - Linda Lyndell
- Love-Eye-Tis - Judy Clay & William Bell
- Remove These Clouds - Judy Clay
- Stay With Us - The Staple Singers
- So Hard to Get Along With - Rufus Thomas
- I Like What You're Doing to Me - Jeanne & The Darlings
- Over Easy - Booker T. & The MG's
- Shouldn't I Love Him - Mable John
- Left Over Love - William Bell & Judy Clay
- Sweet Things You Do - Jimmy Hughes
- Grab a Handful - Art Jerry Miller
- Consider Me - Eddie Floyd
- Soul Clap '69 - Booker T. & The MG's
- Standing In the Need of Your Love - Jeanne & The Darlings
- I Thank You - The Bar-Kays
- Make It Good - The Soul Children
- I'll Be Your Everything - Ollie & The Nightingales
- Let Me Ride - William Bell
- Sunday Sermon - Booker T. & The MG's
- Hi De Ho (That Old Sweet Roll) - Carla Thomas
- A Love Affair That Bears No Pain - Shack
- Just a Little Overcome - The Nightingales
- Mannish Boy - The Newcomers
Disc 3
- Let Love Fill Your Heart - Ilana
- Ridin' On Love's Merry-Go-Round - The Soul Children
- I Can't Win for Losing - Hot Sauce
- Ain't Nobody Like Me Baby - Lee Sain
- Echoes From the Past - Hot Sauce
- Did My Baby Call - The Mad Lads
- Baby I'm-a Want You - Isaac Hayes & David Porter
- Pick Up the Pieces - Jean Knight
- Stop Teasing Me - Johnnie Taylor
- Type Thang - Isaac Hayes
- In Love With You - John Gary Williams
- Since I Lost My Baby's Love - Major Lance
- Mama's Baby (Daddy's Maybe) - Hot Sauce
- Poem On the School House Door - The Soul Children
- That Makes Christmas Day - Rufus Thomas
- What's Your Thing - The Staple Singers
- Yes Sir Brother - Shirley Brown
- Funny - Hot Sauce
- Let's Make a Deal - Frederick Knight
- Can't Give You Up (I Love You Too Much) - The Green Brothers
- Just Ain't No Love (Without You Here) - John Gary Williams
Disc 4
- The Ballad of Otis B. Watson - Sid Selvidge
- Black Hands White Cotton - The Caboose
- Love's Not Hard to Find - Dallas County
- April - Casper Peters
- Reaching for a Rainbow - Clark Sullivan
- I Wanna Be Your Baby - Billy Eckstine
- Why Did It Take So Long - Chuck Boris
- Why Did It Take So Long - Barbara Lewis
- Gypsy - Finley Brown
- Slip Away - O.B. McClinton
- When Something is Wrong - Billy Eckstine
- Good Times Are Coming - Ben AtkinsSome Other Man - River City Street Band
- Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You - O.B. McClinton
- Would I Be Better Gone? - Big Ben
- Black Cat Moan - Don Nix
- She's a Friend of Mine - Don Nix
- Rock 'N Roll Warning - Larry Raspberry and The Highsteppers
- Conquistadores '74 - Chico Hamilton
- The Way I'm Needing You - Cliff Cochran
- Let's Get Together - Connie Eaton
- The Way I'm Needing You - Karen Casey
Disc 5
- Stop - Quit It - Poor Little Rich Kids
- Cigarettes - Lonnie Duvall
- It's Mighty Clear - Poor Little Rich Kids
- Warm City Baby - The Honey Jug
- For a Little While - The Goodees
- For Your Love - The Honey Jug
- Groovy Day - Kangaroo's
- And I Love You - Bobby Whitlock
- Smell of Incense - Southwest F.O.B.
- Condition Red - The Goodees
- Family Portrait - Billy Lee Riley
- The Children Have Your Tongue - This Generation
- Show Me Your Soul - Billy Lee Riley
- Day In and Out - The Waters
- Hey Jack (Don't Hijack My Plane) - The Village Sound
- Cool My Desire - The Cheques
- Goodies - The Goodees
- Miss Rita Famous - Paris Pilot
- Someone Something - The Knowbody Else
- Feel Alright - Cargo
- In the Street - Big Star
- I Love You Anyway - Cargoe
- Say What You Mean - The Hot Dogs
- O My Soul - Big Star
- I Walk the Line - The Hot Dogs
- September Gurls - Big Star
Disc 6
- The Assassination - The Dixie Nightingales
- Hush Hush - The Dixie Nightingales
- I Don't Know - The Dixie Nightingales
- Wade In the Water - The Stars of Virginia
- Forgive These Fools - The Dixie Nightingales
- Our Freedom Song (Free At Last) - The Jubilee Hummingbirds
- Press My Dying Pillow - The Jubilee Hummingbirds
- God's Promise - The Pattersonaires
- Hello Sunshine - Rev. Maceo Woods and The Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church Choir
- Tryin' Time - Roebuck "Pops" Staples
- His Love Will Always Be - Terry Lynn Community Choir
- 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
- There's Gonna Be a Showdown - The Rance Allen Group
- That Will Be Good Enough for Me - The Rance Allen Group
- The Magnificent Sanctuary Band (Marching for the Man) - Reverend Maceo Woods & The Christian Tabernacle Concert Choir
- Better Get a Move On - Louise McCord
- Satisfied - Charles May & Annette May Thomas
- I Got to Be Myself - The Rance Allen Group
- He Included Me - The People's Choir of Operation Push Under the Direction of Reverend Marvin Yancy
- We're the Salt of the Earth - The Rance Allen Group
- Reflections - Louise McCord
- Ain't No Need of Crying - The Rance Allen Group
LeVan says
Looking forward to getting this a lot of deep soul.
William Keats says
Does anyone know if this set has any overlapping content with the others?