Stax 50th - A 50th Anniversary Celebration

Never heard of Stax until I read a book on 60s music a little bit ago. This is a great collection of their music.And the quality is awesome. Great job on remastering these songs.

Great music, good recording, nice booklet.

Great CD and packaging I really enjoy listening to the CD's

This collection reminds me of one of those collections of soul 45 RPM singles WLAC DJ John R used to hawk on his night time radio show in Nashville back in the 60's when I had my first transistor radio and WLAC was about the only good station I could get at night. This CD collection is enough popular Stax/Volt recordings for a tantalizing taste of mainstream Stax, but is by no means a complete Stax collection. Songs pivotal to the early development of Stax are totally missing but they really didn't get much airplay anywhere but the mid-south so only true devotees are going to notice. However also missing are some definitive landmark in-house Stax recordings by major names at the label like Otis Redding. His "Try A Little Tenderness" is possibly the biggest hole here. In interviews that song is often cited as the greatest, most perfect or "Staxiest" record ever recorded at Stax and it certainly should be in the 50th Anniversary Collection. You get "Soul Man" but not "Soul Girl." The more complete Stax collections are several times more expensive or are more focused on certain eras and you have to buy multiple era collections to get the whole picture. This collection covers everything except the very early days and it is a good choice if you are budget minded yet want to hit some of the highlights of the more popular Stax songs and artists. The two CD's are crammed slam full. They could have spread this content out to 4 CD's in two volumes. Lots of value for your dollar and good for people like me that have deeper vinyl at home but would like some Stax on CD on the road. Be warned this music is addictive and like good soul food there is nothing else like it. Before you know what happened you may be hungry for some "Burnt Biscuits" or "Jelly Bread" and other deeper Stax cuts along with some of the prime cuts that should be here.

When I was coming up, getting my feet wet in R&B, soul, and blues, the word Stax was synonymous with quality and authenticity. If it came from Stax, you were almost certainly assured of getting the genuine article - not a copy of a copy of a copy. Stax certainly had its share of breakout stars, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers - acts that got national approbation.After the headliners came a group of equally talented performers who were minor deities in R&B circles - Booker T. & the MGs, Albert King, Carla Thomas, and Johnnie Taylor among them. Late arrivals to this material may be interested to learn what Walkin' the Dog - Rufus Thomas - sounded like before the Stones cashed in. There are multiple wonderful surprises on this 2-CD set - from Little Milton - That's What Love Will Make You Do - to - Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Johnnie Taylor - to the priceless - Your Good Thing Is About To End - Mable John.If you want the material that broke out you'll be more than satisfied - Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight - and the irresistible - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics - not to mention classics by artists previously listed. But the real fun is digging way down into material you've most likely never heard - Candy - The Astors - just great! About the only disappointment this terrific set has to offer is discovering that Isaac Hayes just doesn't hold up very well. His voice is glorious, but the delivery is goopy and the over-arrangements intolerable.Buy now, think later! 2-CDs - which cleverly add up to 50 tracks (50th Anniversary Edition), sturdy box, excellent booklet. I simply cannot imagine where you could find more for less - this wonderful collection could easily provide the foundation for a really solid, and delightful, collection. Switchin' labels on the tables, this assortment Stax up real nice.

They take it in generally in order, so you get to move from the early years through the "Otis" Stax to the "Isaac" Stax. Through the collection, you get to feel how the label changed in terms of style. I just wish it was a bigger collection. For a 50th celebration, this could have been twice the length (100 songs) and still just be scratching the surface of what Stax brought to the table. Still, it's a good collection.

I'll be straight right off the bat. When someone says "Classics," it usually means music for old people. That's what it really is, and there's no shame in it. But young people can like "Classics" too, provided they have decent musical tastes and a pop music awareness that is broader than Hip-Hop or modern Pop.This collection is chock full of tunes that every person (old OR young) who appreciates music and its evolution should have in his or her collection. When it comes to talking about the R&B period of American music, this collection contains an abundance of gems and must-haves. A lot of these tunes are available for cameos in other collections, but this particular set of two CDs groups them in a tight, logical order. These tunes will make you laugh, sniffle, shuffle your feet or compel you to spontaneously bust out a move and grab the nearest convenient microphone-looking item for a soulful sing-along.The recording quality is pretty good for the era, so you can crank the songs up to decent volume without annoying your music system.If for no other reason, this collection is worth buying because it reminds us of a day when music was created for motivations beyond pure profit or shameless self-promotion, and artists actually did pour their heart and soul into their creations. Classic.

JUST LOVE EVERY SINGLE SONGS ON BOTH CD"S , ORIGINAL RECORDING , ALL THE GREAT ARTIST OF STAX ARE HERE.

Je suis en pleine poussée de zik soul et rythm and blues en ce moment. Je ne connaissais que quelques titres du coffret, mais je peux dire que je ne suis pas déçu de l'ensemble.En plus le coffret deux CD est arrivé directement des States from San Diego California. Pour info : le vendeur, même s'il s'exprime dans la langue de l'Oncle Sam,est très attentif à la satisfaction de ses clients et ça fait plaisir de voir que même de l'autre côté du fleuve, le business c'est aussi "consumer satisfaction". Je trouvais que le coffret mettait du temps à arriver, mais finalement quand j'ai vu qu'il venait de San Diego, le délai de livraison est très respectable.Bravo le vendeur, Merci Amazon

これほど貴重な音源をまとめてリリースしてくれたのはうれしい。もちろん、今でも入手可能な楽曲はあるが、STAXレーベルの歴史が2枚で堪能できる。Booker T.&The MG's , Sam&Dave, Mable Jhonson, など、入門に適している。気に入ったアーティストがいれば、関連CDを買うもよし。日本版もリリースされているが、もちろん輸入盤の方が安い。ライナーや解説が必要なければもちろん輸入盤。音楽はライナーで読むものではないし。詳細が知りたければ、いくらでもネットに落ちている。

Love it!Wonderful archive of some of the best R&B to greet the ears!

I didn't really know a lot about stax but this collection of songs and the booklet made me a fan.