MOG Editorial Review

Best known as the home to Otis Redding, Stax Records represented soul's adventurous side during the golden age, and this gargantuan retrospective captures that fact perfectly. Documenting the label's nine finest years before its unfortunate decline, Stax's complete singles range from the famous (Redding, Booker T) to the secret weapons (The Mar-Keys) and everything in between. What's more striking to see as the collection goes on is how diverse the Stax sound was in comparison to rival Motown's by-the-book sound, with the singles here ranging from funk to gospel to blues. Whatever the genre, though, these singles are all soul songs at heart, and you'll be hard-pressed to find anything that sounds as raw as a Stax single.