Nobody Wins (CD)

Nobody Wins

CD (Compact Disc)

Herkömmliche CD, die mit allen CD-Playern und Computerlaufwerken, aber auch mit den meisten SACD- oder Multiplayern abspielbar ist.

lieferbar innerhalb 1-2 Wochen
(soweit verfügbar beim Lieferanten)

EUR 15,99*

Versandkosten

Label: Kent, 1968-1975
Bestellnummer: 2298529
Erscheinungstermin: 26.3.2012

Die Macher der nicht nur von der Presse bejubelten ‘Fame Studios Story‘ und ‘Take Me To The River‘-Sets haben mit ‘Nobody Wins – Stax Southern Soul 1968-1975’ abermals einen formidablen Querschnitt eines wegweisenden Labels vorgelegt. Natürlich kennt jeder Soulfan die Stax- Vorzeige-Artists wie Booker-T. oder Isaac Hayes, aber es wäre zu leicht eine Kopplung mit den gängigen Stax-Vertretern zu machen.

‘Nobody Wins‘ geht, das sagt auch schon der Titel, in die Richtung wo es mehr wehtut – im musikalischen Sinne. Das Pendant zum tanzbaren Northern Soul hatte immer mehr an Wehmut und Melancholie zu bieten, was die 22 Songs dieser Kopplung auch zum Ausdruck bringen. Johnny Daye – ‘Stay Baby Stay‘, Soul Children – ‘Move Over‘, Willie Singleton – ‘Two Fools’, Jimmy Hughes – ‘Let ‘Em Down Baby’, William Bell – ’Lovin’ On Borrowed Time’, Shack – ‘A Love Affair That Bears No Pain’, Willie Singleton – ‘Two Fools’ u. v.a.

Product Information

One of the projects that we feel proudest of is “Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story”. It was a labour of love and a lot of people were very appreciative of it, justifying our own confidence in the project. In the wake of its success we thought it would be good to do some single CD follow-up projects looking at specific areas of the Southern Soul world; unfortunately other things got in the way, including the rather wondrous opportunities we have had with the chaps at Fame, so we put the idea on the back burner until we could do it properly. With “Nobody Wins” I hope we have been able to do so.

Focussing on the output of Stax Records may seem like shooting fish in a barrel, but by 1968 a lot had changed at the label that had effectively codified Southern Soul music with William Bell’s ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’, and then took it to the world via Otis Redding. Otis had died in a plane crash in 1967 and then, at the termination of the label’s distribution deal with Atlantic, Stax had been left without its back catalogue. To combat these problems label head Al Bell had formulated a plan to make it a full-service record label, recording, manufacturing, distributing and marketing the recordings. To make this viable Stax had to compete with the biggest R&B label Motown and release far more material. With this is mind producer Don Davis was brought in to add some Detroit know-how, and music and ideas were imported from all over the USA.

Stax may not have been exclusively releasing Southern music any more but it was still a Southern label. Most of the acts were came from the local area, and as the biggest label outside R&B’s traditional Northern strongholds, it was a magnet for anyone from the region who hoped to get a record deal. On top of that the Southern sound was so successful that even records that were recorded in other parts of the country tried to emulate the sound (noticeable on Calvin Scott’s Stax album for example). “Nobody Wins” gives an overview of the prevailing developments within Southern Soul, which show a move from a Stax-dominated landscape with our earliest productions, to something that ends up looking towards the styles being championed by Hi Records on the other side of Memphis.

The music is uniformly excellent and sometimes, as on Johnny Daye’s ‘Stay Baby Stay’, William Bell’s ‘Loving On Borrowed Time’ or ‘Shouldn’t I Love Him’ by Mable John, transcendent. It is a great treat to be able to spotlight neglected cuts from Willie Singleton, Mack Rice or Freddie Waters, which have been hidden away as B-sides or on expensive box-sets. We’ve also discovered some previously unreleased gems from the previously unknown Sylvia and the Blue Jays, and from Bettye Crutcher and Chuck Brooks. It is also great to be able to focus on some better-known tracks by the Soul Children and Ollie & The Nightingales and bring them together with the other tracks featured here. From start to finish this is great, great soul music.

By Dean Rudland

(acerecords. co. uk)

Rezensionen

,,Ob Superstar, Riesentalent oder „Vertreter des Fußvolks” – jede(r) konnte sich darauf verlassen, dass Bestmögliches investiert wurde. Die Beweise sind hier zu hören." (Good Times, August / September 2012)