INDEX -- NEWS -- INFOS -- STAX TODAY -- FOCUS -- ADS -- LISTS -- LINKS -- PHOTOS -- CONTACT
STAX
INFOS
page 20
HARD
BARGAIN NEW CD
(September 25,
2005)
Our friends Hard Bargain (see infos page 14) have a new CD with appealing tracks such
as this excerpt: Birthday Blues. The voice of lead singer, "King Arthur"
Canady, is often compared to Otis Redding and Sam Cooke.
"More Than You Bargained For" features originals like
"Pop This Pill" (the Viagra song), "Forget About
It" and the title track "More Than You Bargained For"
also known as "Dear Mr. Alligator", aimed at Alligator
Records founder Bruce Iglauer, asking him to "give us a
listen" and not to "shut that door."
In addition to the originals, the CD contains three new songs
from Grammy-nominees Jon & Sally Tiven (Wilson Pickett,
Little Milton, BB King), including the anti-war R&B anthem,
"Sittin' On a Timebomb.
See their site at www.hardbargainblues.com. The new CD will be available during
October at CDBaby.com and TowerRecords.com. People can also check out at www.garageband.com/hardbargain for more music and background info.
ULTIMATE
ISAAC HAYES: 2 CD + DVD
(September 21,
2005)
Stax 3SCD 88043-2 ($19.98)
A new 2 CDs + DVD set issued by Fantasy with several previously unissued audio tracks and concert movies on DVD, produced by Rob Bowman.
CD 1: Theme from Shaft; Precious,
Precious; Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic, Ain&rsquot That
Loving You (For More Reasons Than One), Never Can Say Goodbye, By
the Time I Get to Phoenix, Soulsville, Wonderful, Help Me Love,
Need to Belong to Someone, Good Love, The Look of Love, Do Your
Thing, For the Good Times, I Stand Accused
CD 2: Walk On By, Joy (part 1), His Eye Is on the Sparrow, Brand
New Me, If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don&rsquot Want to Be Right),
Someone Made You for Me, Baby I&rsquom-A Want You,
Let&rsquos Stay Together, Theme from The Men, I
Can&rsquot Help It (If I&rsquom Still in Love With You),
Title Theme (from Three Tough Guys), Run Fay Run, Chocolate Chip,
Come Live With Me, Disco Connection, Rock Me Easy Baby (part 1),
Medley: By the Time I Get to Phoenix/I Say a Little Prayer
DVD: Rolling Down a Mountainside, Theme from Shaft, Soulsville,
Chocolate Salty Balls
See more details at http://www.fantasyjazz.com/html/hayes88043.html.
A NEW ROSCOE
SHELTON CD
(September 9, 2005)
| 1. Fire Still Burns 2. Master Mind 3. Strain On My Heart 4. I Can Cry If I Want To 5. Easy Going Fellow 6. My Best Friend 7. I Know Your Heart 8. Soon As Darkness Falls 9. Love Comes And Goes 10. Keep Your Mind 11. Running From Your Life 12. Love Is The Key 13. You're The Dream |
14. A Mans Love 15. My Laura 16. Challenge Of Love 17. Trying To Quit 18. Worry 19. Saving Face 20. I'm Still The Man 21. There's A Heartbreak Somewhere 22. You're Living Too Fast 23. I'm Ready 24. Who Walks 25. Let Me Be The One 26. You Better Take Time 27. I Can't Help Myself |
A new CD available by great Nashville Soul singer Roscoe Shelton. The tracks were originally issued on the Sound Stage 7 label and 2 of the tracks: I Know Your Heart (Has Been Broken) and I Can't Help Myself were incidentally recorded at the Stax studio with the Mar-Keys in 1964.
JAMES
BROWN, BLACK AMERICA, SOUL AND FUNK
(July 31, 2005)
(Non english readers can click here for this same text in the language of Brigitte Bardot.)
Attention! This book is in french (the actual title is " James Brown, l'Amérique noire, la Soul et le Funk) and was written by french journalist, music expert, Stax fan and friend Florent Mazzoleni. In fact, we met for the fist time...at the Stax studio in Memphis! Though this site is in english and mainly for our english speaking friends, I will make an exception for this excellent book.
Though this book (big size, 176 pages), largely and richly illustrated book is mainly about James Brown, it also deals with other afro-american music styles, including of course the Memphis Sound and the Stax and Hi labels and artists.
The book spans the whole american soul scene from the 50's to nowadays from blues to disco and funk and once again, though centered around James Brown's career, it can be read by all people who are interested by the american black music and artists.
I have always been myself interested in James Brown's music, though he never had any connection with Stax (the only one being a fantastic live duo with Otis Redding which doesn't seem to have been recorded, unfortunately). There are a least 3 reasons.
First, being an instrumental freak, I came to James Brown through his Smash instrumental LP, with most of his early hits (quite the playback tracks of these, in fact). Second, though there has never been a substitute to the Stax sound to my ears (even the Muscle Shoals sound), James Brown's music seems anyway one of the closest to Stax. Third, James Brown's style seems, to me, the closest to Otis Redding's style (We must not forget that Otis recorded a live version of Papa's Got A Brand New Bag and there is also the Mar-Keys' Dear James Medley on their Stax 707 LP).
Florent Mazzoleni's book also deals with the afro-americans' condition and Martin Luther King, the WattStax festival, and the "black exploitation" movies such as Shaft are not forgotten.
All in all, a very good book, with a wide and open minded approach that we hope to see translated one day in english.
Les Editions Hors Collection, 2005
STAX IN THE
PRESS AND ON THE NET
(July 16, 2005)
Two interesting new articles about Stax:
http://www.memphismojo.com/detail.php?id=1276 about Don Nix recording at Ardent in Memphis.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050714/FEAT0106/507140347/1023/FEAT05 about the Jackson Music Awards to honor
Stax performers.
THE WDIA
STORY DOUBLE CD
(June 17, 2005)
The "WDIA The History, The Music, The Legend" double CD can be pre-ordered now at Amazon.com. The release date is next Tuesday, June 21, 2005.
WDIA AM 1070: The History, The Music, The Legend -- a new double disc in stores on Tuesday -- celebrates nearly 60 years of the Goodwill Station. Graced by hip, colorful CD art from Bluff City painter George Hunt, the collection is a delightful primer for those familiar and unfamiliar alike with WDIA's integral role as arbiter of popular taste and community discourse in the Mid-South.
Disc 2 is a solid representation of musicians who have helped make Memphis and WDIA ring with R&B pride over the years -- 13 selections (largely from newer sources) by a coterie of Stax-affiliated acts such as Rufus Thomas, William Bell, Johnnie Taylor, the Bar-Kays, J. Blackfoot, Ben Cauley, the Mad Lads, Ronnie Williams and Carl Wise, who oversaw the music portion of this compilation (look as well for his Memphis Soul Revue volumes, taken from a 1976 Stax concert).
Disc 1 is the main treat, however,
a fascinating time capsule assembled by WDIA on-air personality
James Davis, who also narrates. Its 20 tracks are filled with
vintage jingles, radio spots and plenty of hilarious banter (tapes
were discovered when the station relocated from Union Avenue to
Thousand Oaks). A number of key WDIA figures get featured,
including the station's first African-American deejay, beloved
Beale Street celebrity and columnist Nat D. Williams, plus Theo
'Bless My Bones' Wade, Robert 'Honeyboy' Thomas, A.C. 'Moohah'
Williams and the inimitable Rufus Thomas (try not to bust out
laughing during his plug for "Pink Pussy Cat Wine").
Even national entertainers such as comedian Pigmeat 'Here Comes
the Judge' Markham show up, caught live in one of WDIA's storied
Goodwill Revues (one noticeable absence is B.B. King, who started
out on WDIA promoting Pepticon). (from The Commercial Appeal)
The musical tracks on disc
two are as follows: |
|
This
double disc CD will also be available at Best Buy, Tower Records,
via the WDIA website, Coconuts.com and of course Pop Tunes in Memphis (if you
happen to be coming this way). Rufus would be proud!!!
INDEX -- NEWS -- INFOS -- STAX TODAY -- FOCUS -- ADS -- LISTS -- LINKS -- PHOTOS -- CONTACT
