Lifetime: A Retrospective of Soul, Blues & Gospel 1956-1999 [Box set]

Johnnie Taylor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 21, 2000)
• Original Release Date: November 14, 2000
• Number of Discs: 3
• 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: B00004Z3ZY
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,345 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. I Dreamed Heaven Was Like This

2. Heaven Is My Home [Take 1]

3. The Love of God [Take 7][#]

4. Out on a Hill [Take 1][Alternate Take]

5. Until Then [Take 3][Alternate Take]

6. When The Gates Swing Open

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Little Bluebird

2. Toe Hold

3. That's Where It's At

4. I Ain't Particular

5. Woman Across the River

6. Who's Making Love?

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Standing in for Jody

2. Doing My Own Thing, Pt. 1

3. Stop Doggin' Me

4. I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)

5. Cheaper to Keep Her

6. We're Getting Careless With Our Love

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Before Johnnie Taylor was the soul sage of "Who's Making Love" or the pop-disco smoothie of "Disco Lady," he was a gospel star--the lead singer of the Highway Q.C.'s and later of the Soul Stirrers, where he followed Sam Cooke. He eventually shook off Cooke's vocal mannerisms and left gospel for the soul and disco world, but the church always stayed in his voice--and in the wry moralism that underscored even his most libidinous songs. When he sang "I've Been Born Again," it was nominally about the woman who'd made him monogamous, but his prayerful phrasing argued otherwise. Taylor died in early 2000, and Lifetime is a smartly constructed survey of his entire recording career, including dozens of big hits and a healthy helping of alternate takes and rarities (admittedly, though, the last two decades of the years in the title are represented by all of four tracks).

His first big break in secular pop came when the unrelated Little Johnny Taylor had a hit with "Part Time Love" but couldn't promote it effectively; Johnnie with an "ie" stepped in and remade himself as a bluesy shouter, backed up by the Stax house band in Memphis. By the end of the '60s, he'd hooked up with producer/songwriter Don Davis, who was his creative foil for the commercial peak of his career and introduced his voice to the Detroit sound for a string of little morality plays that zoomed to the upper reaches of the R&B charts. (Admirers of XTC's "Standing in for Joe" should enjoy Taylor's "Standing in for Jody.") The culmination of this period, and of his hitmaking career, was "Disco Lady," a 1975 collaboration with P-Funk sidemen, but Lifetime's final disc even makes Taylor's long decline sound as sharp as the rest of his canon. --Douglas Wolk

Product Description

A true career retrospective for this great gospel-star-turned-blues-shouter, it spans the years 1956-1999 and includes a healthy helping of alternate takes and rarities! The first disc features gospel tunes from his stints with the Highway Q.C.'s and the Soul Stirrers in the late '50s ( I Dreamed Heaven Was Like This; When the Gates Swing Open; Heaven Is My Home ), and then moves into his soul sides for Sam Cooke's SAR label in the early '60s ( Baby, We've Got Love; Dance What You Wanna; Easy Lovin' ). Next up are his fine soul-blues cuts from his days at Stax ( Blues in the Night; Twenty Years from Today ), followed by his late-'70s Columbia era hits ( Disco Lady; Running out of Lies; Play Something Pretty ) and post-'70s Malaco output ( Lover Boy; Soul Heaven; Last Two Dollars ). 65 tracks, plus a 50-page booklet including essay, discography & photos!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Woman Across The River: What Regret Sounds Like, June 30, 2006

By 

bluejim (Castro Valley, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lifetime: A Retrospective of Soul, Blues & Gospel 1956-1999 (Audio CD)

Any set that includes JT singing "Woman Across The River" with Booker T & The MGs gets 5 stars; I don't care if there's 900 songs on it. "Woman" is the absolute pinnacle of southern rhythm & blues as far as I'm concerned. They say in Memphis, a musician doesn't play the next note until the last one's finished. Here's the proof, right here. It seems unfair to single out any one musician because they mesh together perfectly as a whole, but Booker's Hammond B-3 playing is just sublime. And the liners say they recorded most of this stuff live with very little overdubbing. Holy Mackerel. Oh yeah; there's lots of other killer material on here as well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tribute to a "show you right!" soul singer!, May 2, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Lifetime: A Retrospective of Soul, Blues & Gospel 1956-1999 (Audio CD)

This set is a necessary purchase for the JT fan. If you own few of his Stax CD's, this is a treat, since 75% of the box is Stax material. I am a Stax nut, so I had many of the tracks presented.
But it is still worth it due to his early pre-Stax tracks plus his Columbia and Malaco output, ending in the classic " Soul Heaven."

I liked JT because of his great singing voice and his attitude about life in general. He cared less about the critics and the negative publicity. He was one of the greatest.I missed his show in Birmingham about 2 weeks before he died in Dallas in May 2000.

Forget the critics that don't give this set 5 stars. They believe after a certain period of time at Stax his stuff got dull. I believe JT produced quality product until Stax was forced into bankruptcy in 1975 and continued to produce quality until his death. Look at the review on his last album for Malaco!

Show you right!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars " mr. johnnie taylor the legend himself", January 12, 2001

By 

ophelia smith (san pablo, california) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lifetime: A Retrospective of Soul, Blues & Gospel 1956-1999 (Audio CD)

I THINK THIS IS THE BEST CD'S BECAUSE THE MAN HAD TALENT AND HE HAD THE VOICE AND HE KNEW IT. FROM GOSPEL TO SOUL HE HAD IT ALL. AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT IS ENOUGH SAID ABOUT HIM AND HIS MUSIC. I HAVE ALMOST ALL OF HIS CD'S AND IT IS MY PLESURE TO ADD THIS ONE TO IT.HE WAS ONE OF THE BEST, BECAUSE IN HIS SONGS HE WAS JUST TELLING IT LIKE IT IS AND WHAT HE FELT AND THOUGHT ABOUT AND YOU REALLYHAVE TO LISTEN TO THE WORDS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT J.T. WAS TALKING ABOUT.JOHNNIE TAYLOR IS RATED NUMBER IN MY CD COLLECTION AND ALWAYS WILL BE.