Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

This sumptuous Staple Singers anthology comes in the form of a hardback book containing biographies, photos and recording notes plus four discs that cover the family vocal group's stints at the Vee-Jay, Riverside, Epic and Stax labels. For those unfamiliar with Pops Staples and his offspring Mavis, Pervis, Cleotha and Yvonne's significant contribution to the music world, this release is an ideal place to start. Beginning in raw and basic fashion and culminating some 23 years later with the more commercially viable Muscles Shoals tracks, it's possible to see the evolution of the Staples' sound over the years thanks to the linear order of the recordings. Nonetheless, several factors remain more or less constant with Pops' trademark tremolo guitar sound and Mavis' powerhouse vocals and her siblings' harmonies featuring in the group's breakthrough song "Uncloudy Day" in 1953 right through to later hits. A mixture of Pops originals, revamped spirituals, live tracks and covers garnish much of the first three discs and, whilst the stripped down approach of vocals, guitar and the occasional supplementing musician does make for a slightly unvaried listen at times, it does allow civil rights themes - most notably in covers of Dylan songs such as "Blowin' In The Wind" and "Masters Of War" - as well as the gospel message to take centrestage. The real gamechanger comes in disc four with the group's transition to the legendary Stax label which came with the added benefit of having in-house Muscle Shoals musicians and occasionally Booker T and the MGs as backing. The result, of course, was monster hits like "Respect Yourself", "I'll Take You There" and "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" but less familiar numbers such as "The Ghetto" and "Are You Sure" ensure that the group's social conscience remained intact. From the rough and ready "It Rained Children" in the 1953 to the Staples' 1976 version of "The Weight" by The Band (backed by The Band themselves), this is an essential and enlightening collection that serves one of music's most influential and important acts well.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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