Various Artists - Stax Number Ones (2010)

During the 1960s and the early-70s, the Memphis, Tennessee based Stax Records label delivered hit after hit with raucous R&B, sweet soul, and even a little houserockin' blues music. Stax was second to none in its pursuit of excellence, and the influence of its groundbreaking artists can still be heard in today's R&B, rock, and blues music. During the label's golden era, Stax Records chalked up 175 hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 pop chart, as well as a whopping 250 R&B chart hits.

Based in the musical hotbed of Memphis, Tennessee, the Stax Records label – and its Volt Records subsidiary – would help define soul music during the decade of the 1960s. Sure, Detroit had its Motown, Chicago had Chess Records, and Philly had plenty of soul, but nobody did it quite like Stax. Formed by Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton, the labels’ launching in 1961 would change the course of popular music with a steady stream of hits from artists like Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, and many others, the singers often backed in the studio by the talented, ground-breaking multi-racial house band Booker T. & the MGs.

Stax Number Ones collects all 15 of the label’s chart-topping hits circa 1962 to 1974 from Billboard magazine’s R&B and pop charts. Anybody who might categorize soul music as a certain sound clearly isn’t listening...there’s more originality and unique flavor to these 15 diverse performances than can be explained away by the twelve-year span of their release. While the spry 1962 instrumental “Green Onion” by Booker T. & the MGs sounds a lot like its time and place, Otis Redding’s posthumous hit “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” represents truly timeless soul music. While Isaac Hayes’ funky “Theme From Shaft” can be pegged to a distinct era, Eddie Floyd’s brassy R&B gem “Knock On Wood” sounds as fresh and vital today as it did in 1966 while the Staple Singers’ wonderful, gospel-tinged “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me)” perfectly matches 1950s R&B and ‘60s soul.

Truth is, many of the songs on Stax Number Ones will be familiar to anybody who hasn’t lived in a cave for the past 40 years. They’ve been rehashed and revisited on the radio, on TV, and in movies since The Big Chill audience rediscovered classic soul music back in ‘83. Often overshadowed by the successes of Motown, its closest competitor, Stax could nevertheless boast of #1 hits by artists like Jean Knight (“Mr. Big Stuff”), the Dramatics (“In The Rain”), Shirley Brown (“Woman To Woman”), and Johnnie Taylor (who places three songs here!), most of which have withstood the test of time to become bona fide classics.

If you were ever wondering what the label was all about, this album is a good way to discover the incredible Stax sound. (Stax Records, released March 10, 2010)

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