The Ultimate Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955-1984 [Import]

The Staple Singers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 6, 2004)
• Original Release Date: 2004
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Kent Records UK
• ASIN: B0002QPSW2
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,915 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #77 in Music > Gospel > Traditional

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Hammer & Nails

2. Nobody's Fault But Mine

3. Too Close

4. Uncloudy Day

5. Won't You Sit Down (Sit Down Servant)

6. I Wish I Had Answered

7. Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

8. Swing Low

9. This May Be The Last Time

10. For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. This World

2. I Have Learned To Do Without You (Mavis Staples)

3. Respect Yourself

4. Trying Times (Pops Staples)

5. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha Na Boom Boom)

6. I'll Take You There

7. You've Got To Earn It

8. Only Time You Say You Love Me (Mavis Staples)

9. Oh La De Da

10. If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

A long overdue salute to the first family of gospel soul.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good choice for those trying to collect pre-Stax Staple Singers, August 28, 2005

By 

traderje "traderje" (Through the Window) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955-1984 (Audio CD)

I happen to prefer the pre-Stax period of the Staple Singers with their raw gospel/blues numbers. This CD is the only modern compilation I have yet seen that concentrates a little less on their more well known later pop songs and has the classics from their church days. Pops' guitar shines along with those powerful voices we all love. I would spend the extra few bucks to get this one over the other "Best of" collections. The next best thing to having the original albums.

Of course, there are some post-Stax selections included, too.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...I Know A Place...Ain't No Smilin' Faces...Lyin' To The Races...I'll Take You There...", December 19, 2010

By 

Mark Barry, Reckless Records, London (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955-1984 (Audio CD)

Like most people I came across the Staple Singers through their fabulous run of Stax and Curtom sides in the Seventies (although their career stretched back to gospel roots in the Fifties). This impressive 2004 double CD is by Ace Records of the UK (using their Kent Soul logo) - and is a thorough retro for one of the most underrated soul acts of all time.

Ace/Kent Soul CDKEN2 240 offers up 44 tracks across 2 CDs covering 1955 to 1984 - with 4 previously unreleased tracks thrown in. Disc 1 roughly deals with 1955 up to 1971, while Disc 2 covers everything after that.

DISC 1: (76:07 minutes)
Tracks 1 to 14 feature their Gospel years with the Riverside, Vanguard and Epic labels, while 15 onwards touch on the Stax issues from 1968 to 1971 including "Long Walk To DC" (their 1st single on Stax in 1968) with "The Ghetto", "The Gardiner" and "When Will We Get Paid For The Work We Do".

DISC 2: (78:14 minutes)
Of the 20 singles they charted between 1971 and 1985 on the US Billboard R&B charts (group and solo), an impressive 14 are on Disc 2 - they are "Heavy Make You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)" (1971), "You've Got To Earn It" (1971), "Respect Yourself" (1971), "I'll Take You There" (1972), "This World" (1972), "Oh La De Da" (1972), "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" (1973), "Touch A Hand, Make A Friend" (1973), "City In The Sky" (1974), "Let's Do It Again" (1975), "New Orleans" (1976), "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me" (1976) and "Slippery People" (1984). There's also the solo Mavis Staples torch ballad single "I Have Learned To Do Without You" from 1970.

What is even more shocking than the classiness of the released material (which still manages to raise a smile to this day) is the quality of the unreleased stuff - how have these gems remained in the can until now? First up on Disc 1 is the Traditional song "John Henry" given a harmonica/guitar driven John Lee Hooker boogie - it's nearest approximation is "Keep On Chooglin' by Creedence Clearwater Revival - fabulous stuff. Then there's "Tryin' Times" on Disc 2 - also by POPS STAPLES (an unreleased alternate version of Stax 0064). It was co-written by Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson and first recorded by Roberta Flack in 1969 on her "First Take" album (Donny did is own version of "Everything Is Everything in 1971). Pops goes with the slower Flack interpretation and it's a socially-aware bluesy winner. I've played both tracks many times on the shuffle play in the record shop and they've always elicited a customer response. Then on Disc 2 are "The Only Time You Ever Say You Love Me" by MAVIS STAPLES (a gorgeous slow ballad) and a version of "Oh La De Da" without the fake audience participation that appeared on the Stax 0156 single. Both of these are superb too. Not a lot of unreleased stuff I know, but man the quality is good...

The mastering has been handled by DUNCAN COWELL at Sound Mastering (it's uniformly excellent throughout - especially on the Fifties and Sixties material), while the chunky 28-page colour booklet is jammed with pictured 45's and adverts and has detailed and informative liner notes by noted Soul writer and aficionado TONY ROUNCE. Between them - they've handled large numbers of Ace and Edsel soul reissues throughout the 2000's - see a TAG above for each giving pictorial displays of their work...

I love The Staples Singers - "I'll Take You There" (lyrics above), "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" and the wonderful number one R'n'B hit "Let's Do It Again" - every song imbibed with their lifelong creed of positive action, love and racial harmony - and music as a healer.

"The Ultimate Staples Singers - A Family Affair 1955-1984" is a fantastic overview of their extraordinary career - now onwards to that long-overdue box set.

Recommended.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars from gospel to pop to gospel again, September 24, 2008

By 

Carlos A. Marsh (pasadena, ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955-1984 (Audio CD)

by the time i got into the staples they had become a pop group with BEALTITUDE which contained their number one I'LL TAKE YOU THERE and RESPECT YOURSELF and THIS WORLD. all three songs are on this collection but the first two are the single edits. i read a review at the time that pop had made inroads into their gospel sound making it seem like they sold out but BEALTITUDE was very inspiring to me and still one of my all time favorite albums. but the review has always made me think how did they sound before? well this remastered gem starts out at the beginning. and though they were a family and started out in the church the first recordings were pretty shoddy and primitive but that was starting in 53 like real old blues records. by the mid sixties they got very spiritual and cohesive and the spirit really started to flow. there are some nice mavis solo songs .she has an excellent voice. i just saw her on soul train in 74 doing A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME and it floored me. too bad thats not on here but there are enough gems to fill the two cds. al green was not the only one to take a talking heads song and put a soulful spin on it. in 85 so many years since they began they layed down a funky spiritual groove on the head's SLIPPERY PEOPLE. a rousing number. and maybe they did go commercial in the 70s with island rythm songs like IF YOURE READY(COME GO WITH ME) and TOUCH A HAND MAKE A FRIEND and the very secular and sensous number one LET'S DO IT AGAIN but those songs were no less spiritual than many of their so called gospel songs. pure joy. one of the best family groups ever. gospel , pop, whatever.