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The Southern soul of Stax Records truly knew no boundaries. This summer, a classic instance of its staying power, recorded live in concert, will be revisited on a new 2CD/2LP set.

Stax Revue: Live in ’65! expands a pivotal pair of concerts undertaken at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles 60 summers ago when the Memphis label – newly bolstered by a distribution deal with Atlantic Records – took several of its marquee acts to the West Coast (many for the first time) for a spirited club set packed with favorites by William Bell (“You Don’t Miss Your Water”), Rufus Thomas (“Walking the Dog”), his daughter Carla (“Every Ounce of Strength”) plus bands like Booker T. & The MG’s and Stax house band The Mar-Keys. What made the set’s timing truly striking was that, days after the shows went on from August 7 to 8, the L.A. neighborhood of Watts saw its population rise up to protest the racism and discrimination from the city towards its Black residents. (The uprising, quashed by the National Guard, resulted in 34 deaths; those five days of rebellion were commemorated in a label-sponsored music festival held in the city seven years later, called Wattstax.)

This expanded set, which was only released in any form in 1992, adds some exciting and revelatory material. It turns out the bulk of the performances by Booker T. & The MG’s – including “Green Onions,” “You Can’t Sit Down” and “Soul Twist” – were in fact recorded a month or two earlier at Club Paradise, one of the premiere music sports in Memphis, where many of the label’s acts could be found when not in the studio. By revisiting the tapes from the L.A. and Memphis performances, Stax Revue turns up seven unissued cuts from the Memphis dates (including a take on The MG’s “Boot-Leg,” heard above – ironically one of the only 5-4 Ballroom performances on the original disc that did originate from there – and Stax icon David Porter, who co-wrote “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin'” with Isaac Hayes). It’s also got two tantalizing unheard performances from those L.A. dates, including one from a killer singer who only recorded at Stax’s studio – his work was for Atlantic – but whose work helped define this era of R&B: Wilson Pickett, with his classic “In the Midnight Hour.”

Both versions of the set (the CD has three more tracks than the vinyl, all of which are from the previously unreleased selections) feature new liner notes by music historian (and the set’s producer) Alec Palao, who dives deep into the historical significance of these concerts and even speculates why they took so many years to be heard in the first place. Lynell George, who won a Grammy for her notes on Otis Redding’s Live At The Whisky a Go Go: The Complete Recordings, also contributes notes to the package. Audio is remastered by Joe Tarantino, with vinyl lacquers cut at Take Out Vinyl by Jeff Powell.

Stax Revue: Live in ’65 will be available exactly 50 years after the first 5-4 recording, on August 8. Pre-order links and a full track list are below; as an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

 Stax Revue: Live in ’65! (Stax/Craft/Concord CR00452-02, 2025)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

* previously unreleased
** previously unreleased; CD-only track

CD/LP 1: Live At Club Paradise, Memphis, TN – 1965

1. Green Onions – Booker T. & The MG’s
2. Boot-Leg – Booker T. & The MG’s *
3. You Can’t Sit Down – Booker T. & The MG’s
4. Summertime – Booker T. & The MG’s
5. Soul Twist – Booker T. & The MG’s
6. What Can It Be – The Astors *
7. I’ll Be Doggone – David Porter **
8. Just Be True – David Porter *
9. Out of Sight – David Porter **
10. Can’t See You When I Want To – David Porter *
11. Bar-B-Q – Wendy Rene *

CD/LP 2: Live At The 5-4 Ballroom, Los Angeles, CA – 8/8 and 8/9/1965

1. Last Night – The Mar-Keys
2. Don’t Have to Shop Around – The Mad Lads
3. Candy – The Astors
4. Any Other Way – William Bell
5. You Don’t Miss Your Water – William Bell
6. Every Ounce of Strength – Carla Thomas
7. Boot-Leg – Booker T. & The MG’s
8. In the Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett *
9. Walking the Dog – Rufus Thomas
10. The Dog – Rufus Thomas **

Disc 1, Tracks 1 and 3-5 and Disc 2, Tracks 1-7 and 9 released on Funky Broadway: Stax Revue Live At The 5-4 Ballroom – Stax SCD-8567-2, 1992