Customer Reviews

Lifetime: A Retrospective of Soul, Blues & Gospel 1956-1999

5 star:		(8)
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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.

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!

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.

OH YES,FINALLY SOMEONE IS PAYING TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE GREATEST SOUL SINGERS OF OUR TIME,A BOX SET THAT FINALLY IS DONE RIGHT!FROM HIS EARLY DAYS WITH THE SOUL STIRRERS,THE STAX VOLT ERA,ON TO THE COLUMBIA LABEL,& LAST THE MALACO LABEL!I ONLY WISH THEY WOULD HAVE MADE A 4TH CD WITH ALOT MORE OF HIS TIMELESS BALLADS!I KNOW HE'S UP IN "SOUL HEAVEN"JESUS PERSONALLY TOOK HIM THERE,ALL OF HIS FRIENDS ARE WAITING FOR HIM THERE,BROOKE BENTON,SAM COOKE,NAT KING COLE,BILLY ECKSTINE,THE COUNT,THE DUKE,OTIS REDDING,MARVIN GAYE,JACKIE WILSON,JAMES CARR,MARV JOHNSON,DAVID,EDDIE,PAUL,& MELVIN ( THE TEMPS),LARRY PAYTON (THE 4 TOPS),MARY WELLS, TAMMIE TERRELL, FLORANCE "FLO" BALLARD, "ARETHA'S" SISTER CAROLYN FRANKLIN,ELLA,MAHALIA,BILLIE HOLIDAY,DINAH WASHINGTON,BABY WASHINGTON, GROVER WASHINGTON JR.,SARAH VAUGHN,CLARA WARD,MOM'S MABLEY,PEARL BAILEY,ESTHER PHILLIPS,LINDA JONES,JOE TEX,IVORY JOE HUNTER,BIG JOE TURNER,KING CURTIS,CLYDE MCPHATTER,LAVERN BAKER,THE BAR KAYS, JIMI HENDRIX,BIG MAMA THORTON,LOUIE ARMSTRONG,LOUIS JORDAN,BILLY STEWART, RUFUS THOMAS,DONNY HATHAWAY,ALL SINGING UP IN "SOUL HEAVEN" J. H. H.PEACE TO THE WORLD!!DOVER PA. USA GOD BLESS!!

I have many of JT's cds and this is a good one. This box set is a combination of blues, gospel and soul. What a delightful mixture. JT could sing anything; just give him the music becuse he had the voice. The "live" rendition of "Steal Away" is great...again JT at his best. Of course many of his hit songs are included but listen to "Free" and "Separation Line". These cds contains many of JT's previous unissued alternates. The price is good and if you're a JT fan you won't go wrong with this purchase. Additionally there is a booklet included that gives all of JT's singles, albums, with photos of family and concerts. This is a must have box set! Do yourself a favor and order it today.

This collection solidified my love for Johnnie Taylor's music.Before i read the track listing the title had me" Lifetime:A Retrospective of Soul, Blues & Gospel 1956-1999.Enough said

This cd has all the hits Johnnie made while recording on the stax record label. So if you are looking for songs like still called the blues and just because you will not find them on this box set. But just about every other song he made you will find on this cd. I bet they are having a party in soul heaven. R.I.P. Johnnie Taylor!

A MUST HAVE FOR ALL OF JOHNNIE TAYLOR'S FAN! I HAVE A LOT OF CD'S OF THIS TALENTED ARTIST, BUT THERE WAS SOME I COULDN'T FIND! THIS CD HAS ALL OF THE HITS THAT MADE J.T. FAMOUS! BUY THIS, AND YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!