Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod the Mod finds his solo footing, headed for stardom, with the Faces in his wake.
6:00 AM GMT 22/06/2011
Features Disc of the day
The Staple Singers
A Family Affair 1955-1984
(Kent Soul, 2004)
30 years of gospel-soul's first family...
It's 1948 and Pops Staples - steel worker by day/ bluesman by night - is preparing his three daughters for their first performance at a local church service in their new home town of Chicago. 52 years later, the Staples' family figurehead passed away, leaving behind a vast body of songs that made it all the way from the plantations of Mississippi to stadiums across America. Whether it be the impassioned gospel/R&B they recorded in the 1950s or the trailblazing grooves of their '70s Stax soul, the Staple Singers were spirited, devoted and, most importantly, united to the very end. There are several comps out there, but for sheer career-spanning volume, this two-disc collection comes out on top. Purists will cite 1971's Be Altitude: Respect Yourself as their most consistent work, but the heart of that album's fluid urban funk (Respect Yourself, I'll Take You There) can be found in their early gospel-folk recordings - a good handful of which are included here. The Staples sound is suspended between Pop's vibrato guitar and his youngest daughter Mavis's simmering baritone - a combination that manages to deliver both the spiritual calm and the righteous fire of the southern Baptist church. It's there on the country-indebted Will The Circle Be Unbroken and the pastoral blues of Uncloudy Day, the protest shuffle of Long Walk To D.C. and the soulful demands of When Will We Be Paid (For The Work We've Done). By the time the group reached the Stax label in 1968, Mavis had established herself as one of the decade's most powerful singers. Possessor of a super-rich voice that could send their messages of peace and protest hurtling through those lucky enough to get in her way, she struck to the core of the matter every time. The next decade brought triumph after triumph, not least in their collaboration with The Band during their Last Waltz swansong and in the politicised funk-o-rama of the Wattstax festival. As the '70s came to a close they took a step back from the mainstream pop world, but they always remained a relentlessly positive force. You can taste some of that power here.
Ross Bennett
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 11/11/2009
Further Listening
Mavis Staples – Don’t Change Me Now (Volt/Ace, 1988)
Aretha Franklin – I’ve Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You
O.V. Wright – The Soul Of O.V. Wright (Fontana, 1992)
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Dear Author www.mojo4music.com !
Bravo, what necessary phrase..., an excellent idea
Posted by MaxAndreev at 3:32 AM GMT 30/11/2009 Report Abuse
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This is the fantastic music I grew up on. It is as elverant today as it was back then. Plus, Pops Staples was the MAN. And Mavis. Well, she could sing, just a little bit. Thank you so much for loading this. You have made my day.
Posted by Vani at 6:03 PM GMT 08/03/2012 Report Abuse
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This is the fantastic music I grew up on. It is as elverant today as it was back then. Plus, Pops Staples was the MAN. And Mavis. Well, she could sing, just a little bit. Thank you so much for loading this. You have made my day.
Posted by Vani at 6:04 PM GMT 08/03/2012 Report Abuse
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