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The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973 is the lynchpin of Ace's extensive catalogue campaign spotlighting the recordings and artists associated with the Fame label and studio of Muscle Shoals, Alabama - home of the Muscle Shoals Sound.
The 75-track, 3CD set is an open-minded, celebratory overview of this world-famous institution's golden era, when under the stewardship of owner Rick Hall, Fame birthed countless recordings that have come to define Southern Soul music.
Hall's idiosyncratic engineering and production technique, and the highly-regarded session crew he employed, resulted in an unprecedented run of hits, not to mention an equal amount of astoundingly soulful misses.
The featured artists are a virtual Who's Who of 1960s soul, including Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Arthur Conley, Irma Thomas, Joe Tex, Joe Simon, Lou Rawls, Arthur Alexander and Otis Clay, alongside lesser known, yet no less worthy names such as the Blues Busters, Maurice & Mac, Spencer Wiggins, Willie Hightower, Bettye Swann and many, many others.
The set also includes several of the notable pop hits recorded at the studio by the Osmonds, Tommy Roe and Bobbie Gentry, among others. Special attention is paid to those acts closely associated with the Fame label, such as Candi Staton, Jimmy Hughes and Clarence Carter, as well as its inestimable stable of writers and producers, including Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham and George Jackson.
The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973 is the fruit of two years' extensive research in the Fame vaults by the Ace team, with full access granted to this legendary tape and photo archive. The heavily illustrated package not only boasts over a dozen unissued tracks - including previously unheard rarities by Otis Redding and Arthur Alexander - but also comes laden with informative essays and extensive track notes, all based upon fresh interviews with many of the principals involved.
If you know anything about soul music, you know Fame, which is why The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973 is an essential purchase.
Follows on from our recent release of Candi Staton's Evidence: The Complete Fame Records Masters, which has garnered rave reviews everywhere. Packaged in the same deluxe style as our 2008 mini-box set, Take Me To The River.
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| Candi Staton is the finest female singer ever to grace a Southern Soul recording, her achingly vulnerable vocals perfect for the lyrics of the best country/soul songs. Luckily for us, during her tenure at Rick Hall s Fame label she got the best songs, mostly from the pen of George Jackson, perhaps the top Southern Soul songwriter of his generation. George spent every waking minute of his day writing songs and probably came up with a few while he dream t too. As Candi herself said, That was his thing. Brought to the FAME studio by her then husband-to-be Clarence Carter, Candi had a Top 10 R&B hit with her very first single on the Fame label, the catchy and upbeat I d Rather Be An Old Man s Sweetheart (Than A Young Man s Fool) , penned by Jackson in 1969. Those who flipped the single over were treated to more Staton/Jackson magic on the beautiful ballad For You . From 1969 to 1973, Hall got the very best from Candi, with one gem after another pouring out of his studio down in rural Alabama: songs of cheating, heartache and loss such as the superb Mr And Mrs Untrue , the edgy Evidence , the tender Too Hurt To Cry , the heartrending You Don t Love Me No More and the churning I m Just A Prisoner . Years later Candi revealed that the appealing raw edge which crept into her voice at times was achieved by Hall urging her on to record the same song up to 25 times. Though George Jackson was Hall s writer of choice for Candi, Rick was also brave enough to take a chance recording her on songs that were firmly associated with other more established artists. Candi s take on Tammy Wynette s Stand By Your Man is a marvelous slice of Southern Soul whatever your views on the politically incorrect lyrics, while her exquisite version of In The Ghetto rivaled Elvis Presley s mega-hit, and both her covers received Grammy nominations. Candi s complete output on the Fame label, in pristine sound, would be a mouth-watering prospect for any soul connoisseur, but Kent have upped the ante immeasurably with the addition of 12 previously unissued tracks, including her final session for the label recorded just before she signed with Warner Brothers in early 1974. The standard of the unissued sides is easily on a par with her released material and I wholeheartedly endorse Dean Rudland s assessment of these tracks as significant discoveries in his excellent liner notes accompanying this release. Here again George Jackson s name can be found on many of the credits, including the infectious dancefloor number One More Hurt (which has stood the test of time a lot better than many of Candi s later disco releases), but the find of Kent s trawl through the FAME vaults is We Had It All , an outstanding country soul ballad written by Donnie Fritts and Troy Seals and previously recorded by Waylon Jennings. Candi Staton has since spoken about the ups and downs in her personal life at the time of these recordings, but even before we read about it we could hear in her voice that she had lived the heartache, loneliness and doomed love affairs contained in the lyrics of these songs. There are many first class Southern Soul records by female vocalists from the late 60s and early 70s, but none were as consistently excellent as Candi Staton s output for the Fame label. This is simply as good as Southern Soul gets. By Martin Goggin |
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With the release of Ray Charles' Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles, on November 15, 2011, Concord Records will make available for the first time the artist's collection of ABC-Paramount singles during this prolific period (1960-1972).
The digitally remastered deluxe 106-song collection presents the A and B sides of 53 singles, including 11 #1 hits, such Grammy Award winners "Hit the Road Jack," "Busted," "Georgia on My Mind," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Crying Time," "America the Beautiful," and many more.
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According to Valerie Ervin, president of the Ray Charles Foundation, "This compilation provides an opportunity to hear Ray's evolution into a full-fledged artist and creative force. The song selection was based upon the interpretation he could bring to the music and not the genre. The ABC singles comprise an epoch of essential Ray Charles music and a window into how his genius evolved."
John Burk, Concord Music Group's Chief Creative Officer stated, "Ray Charles is one of America's most iconic and treasured voices. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to present Ray's historic ABC singles with the reverence and respect they deserve and continue our dynamic partnership and acclaimed reissue program with Valerie Ervin and everyone at the Ray Charles Foundation."
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Charles' contract was coming up for renewal and the Atlantic brass expected an easy negotiation. After all, most entertainers took a passive approach to their business, especially when things were going well. However, his agency, Shaw Artists, wanted to bring Charles to a broader audience, which they felt could be better delivered by a major record company.
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Sid Feller became Charles' A&R man and producer. Though as Atlantic's Jerry Wexler once said, "You don't produce Ray Charles; you just get out of the way and let him do his thing."
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| Get ready for fiery sanctified soul, heavy Pentecostal jams, drum machine gospel, slow-burning moaners, glorified guitar sermons and righteously ragged a cappela hymns! The music on this compilation was originally released on small label 45s, mostly in the 1960s and `70s. At least one-third of the records were self-released, paid for by a church congregation or the artists themselves. Others were on regional labels (typically run by one single producer) little known today outside of a small circle of collectors. This vibrant music is incredibly honest and almost criminally unknown. All tracks were sourced from 45s collected over the last decade by compiler Mike McGonigal, who also produced 2009's three disc set Fire in My Bones: Raw + Rare + Otherworldly African-American Gospel (1944-2007) for Tompkins Square. McGonigal, who has compiled records for Mississippi Records and his own Social Music label, lives in Portland, OR where he is the editorial director for Yeti Publications. He writes in the liner notes that he "chose to source this compilation entirely from 45s because of their democratic/DIY nature; almost anyone could raise enough money to release a seven-inch single." "Maybe you'll feel like I did on first hearing these tracks, that you've stumbled in on someone else's tenderly private moment. Or that you've been swept up in a collective delirium. You'll hear deep soulfulness here, with heavy admixtures of rhythm and blues and rock'n'roll. There are echoes of `60s and `70s pop too. You'll also catch bits of country and western, and something like surf guitar. In another way, much here uncannily resembles the unruly sound and spirit of 1960s garage. Give yourself over to this compilation: there's delight and surprise in every track." --PETER DOYLE, author of Echo and Reverb: Fabricating Space in Popular Music Recording, 1900-1960; The Devil's Jump and Crooks Like Us |
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