The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles: 1972-1975 [Box set]

The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles (Series) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 2, 1995)
• Original Release Date: December 22, 1994
• Number of Discs: 10
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Stax
• ASIN: B000000ZHT
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,835 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #75 in Music > R&B > Soul > Memphis Soul

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the end of a love affair, June 24, 2000

By 

zeca azevedo "zeca azevedo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles: 1972-1975 (Audio CD)

Who killed Stax Records? Well, this is a question that Rob Bowman, Stax scholar, try to answer in the text he wrote for this box set. Bowman talks about money, power, ambition, inflated egos, betrayals and the fight between an independent music label and a giant media corporation to indicate why Stax Records ended in 1975. Maybe the music industry killed Stax Records using payola as a poison. Maybe Disco Music killed Stax Records and Soul Music in general when it arises from the underground clubs to the top ten lists in the early seventies. Whoever or whatever killed Stax Records in the mid 70's didn't kill it's music. Forget the critics who said that this box set isn't good as the first (the black box) and the second (the blue box) Stax boxes. THE COMPLETE STAX/VOLT SOUL SINGLES - VOLUME 3, the red box, is a compilation of epic proportions, the definitive document of the end of an era in Soul Music and in Black culture. The final chapter in Stax' history is full of great music and beautiful voices. I think that it's an impossible task to mention in a few lines all the best musical moments of a 10 CD compilation that has more than 10 hours of music, but i can say that some of these great musical moments are provided by the voices of almost forgotten artists like Annette Thomas, Hot Sauce, Veda Brown, The Mad Lads, The Temprees, Mel and Tim and The Newcomers. These artists' records and the records of Stax' veterans like Rufus Thomas, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Isaac Hayes and The Bar-Kays are among the best 70's soul output. The red box proves that Stax produced great music until the end. Stax died, but it's music will live forever. Right on.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy the 3rd Set!, January 14, 2002

By 

greg platt (Springville, AL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles: 1972-1975 (Audio CD)

If you enjoyed the first set ( 1959- 1968) and the second set ( 1968-1971), then you need to buy the 3rd set ( 1972-1975).

Stax was in an expanding phase due to the recent success of Shaft, as well as other high quality artists like Albert King, Johnnie Taylor,and the Staple Singers. The third set describes the change in the distribution deal that ultimately lead to the downfall of Stax.

The 3rd set is a necessary purchase for those people that purchased both first and second sets due to the continued quality that Stax released throughout their existence and, in my opinion, literally contined until the McLemore studio in Memphis was padlocked.

The first 8 discs contain great hits as well as great artists. The last 2 discs are bare due to many artists that bailed in 1974 in order to continue their respective careers. However, many unknowns prove to be very good!

The hard luck that befell on Stax will make the Stax lover very sad. Although the company went through several phases in its structure and development, the quality of product remained high.

The Memphis Sound Lives!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stax - - The Funky(-est) Years, February 15, 2008

By 

Eddie Landsberg "My 10th year as a reviewer !... (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles: 1972-1975 (Audio CD)

Although its true that the STAX singles that WERE the Memphis Soul sound "we all grew up with" (even if we were born 20 years to late) came circa the '60s (Otis Redding, Booker T, Mar-keys era) etc., fact is this:
STAX was releasing some REALLY bad*ss funky soul in the early '70s, the catch maybe is that the label didn't have AS distinct a sound as it did a few years earlier (then again, minus the romanticism, maybe it could be argued that one of the reasons Stax's sound was so unique was that so many of the hits sounded the same... yet were fronted by performers who had the star power to represent the sound... a pattern typical of most the great labels of the era) - - by the '70s, the STAX sound you hear is one that is evolving... and one in which the groups, rather than relying on one house band are also beginning to have their own sound... hence a label that was a true treasure chest of talent. While the world was catching up with them, STAX was simply "searching" for new directions... and hear you can hear it... gospel, funk, blues, rhythm & blues... even the orchestral soul of Issac Hayes and then some.

Though this box set might sound a bit pricey, actually its dirt cheap when you consider than if you buy all volumes of the story you're getting a full and complete soul education... and only 10 years earlier hunting down all this stuff would not have only been virtually impossible but cost a couple thousand dollars (this volume alone.) Now, hear it all is for relatively very little money, all in GOOD condition (nothing beat up or scratched) and at the push of a button... and minus the funky basement smell (actually I kinda miss that...)

If you like this series, definitely go watch the WATTSTAX (Living Word) DVD as well as Rob Bowman's SOULSVILLE U.S.A. book on the behind the scenes story of the label... they fit perfectly together.