CD Review
Various Artists
Soul Comes Home
(Shout/Stax DK 30351)
by Gordon Baxter
Review date: July 2004
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"Keeping the Blues Alive Award" Achievement for Blues on the Internet Presented by The Blues Foundation
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There cannot be any Soul music fan who does not know something about the legendary Stax label. For anyone who wants the details of the many trials and tribulations that beset the label that brought us some of the finest soul music ever, I suggest you check out the book "Soulsville" by Rob Bowman. Anyway, the good news is that Stax is back, in more ways than one. There is now a Stax museum, which opened in May 2003. "Soul Comes Home" was recorded at a live concert timed to coincide with that opening, and to celebrate not just Stax, but all the great soul music that has come out of Memphis.
It is hard to know where to begin, because "Soul Comes Home" is absolutely jam-packed with classic songs. The singers and musicians may be a little longer in the tooth, but they all still sound mighty fine to these ears. Even where the original artists were not around, the selected replacements do a very good job indeed, the prime examples being Michael McDonald ("(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay)"), and Solomon Burke ("Try A Little Tenderness").
From the opening track, Eddie Floyd and "Knock On Wood", right through to the closing "I'll Take You There" (Mavis Staples and Ensemble), the album just makes you wish you had been there. This level of quality in a line-up has never been seen for years. Where else would you find the likes of William Bell, Booker T. and the MGs, Little Milton and Al Green on the same bill?
The songs may be familiar, but that is no bad thing. The quality of the performances is uniformly high throughout the album's 80 minutes. The only name that may be a little unfamiliar to some listeners is that of Rance Allen ("That Will Be Good Enough For Me"). Allen is a bishop in the Church of God In Christ, and this was the only explicitly religious number in the running order. It is a particularly fine performance, which proved to be something of a showstopper on the night.
"Soul Comes Home" is an essential purchase, period. It epitomises what good Soul music should sound like. Soul music is actually quite a broad church, but at its best it can move you emotionally, physically and even spiritually; "Soul Comes Home" does all three. Don't just sit there, get out and buy it, and while you are at it, buy the DVD as well!
www.soulsvilleusa.com
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Copyright © 2004 Ray M. Stiles & Blues On Stage All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author. Blues On Stage is a ® Trademark of Ray Stiles.
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