Be What You Are

The Staple Singers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Stax
• ASIN: B000000ZKG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,386 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

1973 album by the classic soul group that includes: Be What You Are, Love Comes In All Colors, That's What Friends Are For, Bridges Instead Of Walls and more great tracks. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Only..., April 15, 2007

By 

C. R. Griffin (Somewhere) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be What You Are (Audio CD)

This is a solid recording. You can put this on and listen all the way through. Mavis makes you believe her when she's singing. My favorites are Tellin'Lies, Grandma's hands and Heaven. On these recordings Mavis is at her absolute best. The previous reviewer made mention of moaning, yeah there's that and it feels like its coming from the bottom of her feet. If only they were all like this, worth every penny.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw Classic Definite Soul, March 17, 2007

By 

W. Noshie (Beirut, Lebanon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be What You Are (Audio CD)

This is a basic Gospel funky soul music album.

Released in 1974 by the Staple family brilliantly fused Gospel with a background Soul moaning and repetitions, almost in every song. Nothing more can be said about this album except that if you are collecting all the classic Soul albums Like Isaak Hayes, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Barry White; this album is a definite must and a plus to the Collection.

Highly recommended

5.0 out of 5 stars The Staples Just Being What They Are, November 28, 2011

By 

Andre S. Grindle "Andre' Grindle" (Brewer Maine) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be What You Are (Audio CD)

The Staples have always had a very singular and distinctive sound. Most of the great ones from this era are so because they do. The music business really hasn't changed a lot in it's approach. But artists have. At this time,there was a message in the music. It meant something to the artists doing the creating. And they were willing to challenge anyone for the right to make the music the way they felt it needed to be done. Already veterans long before they recorded a classic quartet of albums with Stax from 1967 through 1972. By really mixing it up with gospel and southern soul in even more solid a way than Ray Charles had at the music's outside the Staples were by this point kind of making a slow exit from their Stax phase. All the same,they still weren't missing a beat when it came to content either.

Because their sound on the label had worked itself into such a strong groove by this point,this album does tend to have a mild predictability to it. It isn't by any means a clone of the previous Be Altitude: Respect Yourself. But with it's fender rhodes sound and chugging rhythms these bluesy funky soul-folk numbers such as the title song,"Drown Yourself" and the medly "Love Comes In All Colors/Tellin' Lies" all feel good going through your head. Of course the message is all over this album too. It all comes to a musical head on the bright,melodic "Bridges Instead Of Walls",which basically makes all too simple solutions clear for the troubles of society and asks nothing more of the listener than to listen. Considering the type of album this is covering Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands" was probably the best choice they could possibly make. Well that and closing the album with a beautifully orchestrated soul/gospel ballad in "Heaven".

Stax itself was coming to a fast head around this time. Within a couple years the label would come to a dramatic and for decades somewhat tragic conclusion. But in terms of sheer musical and above all thematic creativity the early 70's couldn't have been a better time for the Staples. They were somehow managing something that would seem almost impossible,especially in a musically divided society as we live in today. The Staples somehow were able to be both religious and secular minstrels. They came at their message from a spiritual backround but were also somehow able to infuse it with the sort of passion for humanity and reality to make it work in both worlds almost effortlessly. That's always been the art of this family-the late Roebuck "Pops" Staples and Mavis in particular. Not to mention how they chose a musical style and lyrical approach to reach out to the people as opposed to maintaining some type of holier than thou attitude. All this taken together,this album will definitely make it a joy to open ones eyes to life.