Progressive Bloggers (Free subscription) | 07/06/2008
Somewhere By The Crazy RiverThe Weight from the Last Waltz with the Staple Singers
Billboard (Free subscription) | 07/05/2008
"The early bird gets the worm, huh?," Jakob Dylan said as he got the second day of the inaugural Rothbury Festival started yesterday (July 4). And there was certainly plenty to be hooked on the event's first full day of action, including Snoop Dogg, Widespread Panic, Of Montreal and the Drive-By Truckers.
Popdose (Free subscription) | 07/02/2008
A selection of “Findings” from the back page of Harper’s Magazine, June 2008. A genetic variation affecting two thirds of East Asian men might allow them to take performance-enhancing testosterone undetected, a study found. As yet there exists only anecdotal evidence that Chinese, Japanese, and Korean athletes are more successful at cheating. (Randy Newman, “Yellow Man” [...]
Miami Herald (Free subscription) | 07/02/2008
Booker T. and the MGs, the Memphis Horns and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section will become the newest members of the Musicians Hall of Fame.
This Distracted Globe (Free subscription) | 06/24/2008
By Joe Valdez Synopsis: On August 20, 1972, Memphis-based Stax Records organized a concert at the L.A. Coliseum to benefit the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation and Martin Luther King Hospital in Watts. The event was to cap the annual Watts Summer Festival, observing the anniversary of the “rebellion” - as it was known [...]
raging universe (Free subscription) | 06/17/2008
The Staple Singers I admit it. It can get tiresome how many times I say this, but finding the entity that causes people's suffering is impossible. S*He doesn't exist. It's not the president, the evil dictator, your mother, your spouse, the sheriff, the white, red, or blue man, not even the earth. The business corporations'? Are you kidding? Who really pulls the strings? Where is the root of injustice?...
The Hits Just Keep On Comin' (Free subscription) | 06/10/2008
Those inclined to bash the music of the 1970s as silly, escapist nonsense can only do so by ignoring the vitality of soul in the early part of the decade. As late as 1972, old-school soul records were charting regularly and riding high: that summer, “I’ll Take You There” by the Staple Singers hit Number [...]
Seattle Weekly (Free subscription) | 06/04/2008
The crowd in Mel Stuart's 1973 concert documentary is as prominent in as the musical performers are. They rhapsodize and philosophize about the blues, interracial sex, and the irresistible villainy of men/women, and, in the film's best scene, swarm down from the stands to the field to strut the Funk...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 06/02/2008
OUR WEEKLY NOD TO AMAZING ALBUMSGIVES A GOOD CAHOOT The Staple Singers did nothing less than modernize gospel music. They are the next evolutionary step after Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, all churchgoers that etched humanity into hymns and gave hips to hallelujahs. Compacting the pulpit into danceable bursts, The Staple Singers - Roebuck "Pops" Staples and his children Mavis, Pervis, Cleotha and...
The Daily Docket (Free subscription) | 06/01/2008
OK, maybe you woke up this morning thinking about "Last Night" and how great the Mar-Keys were. But sinners, it's Sunday and it's time to pray with the Staple Singers so you can "Respect Yourself." That's better. Now "I'll Take You There." God, I love the way Mavis sings. Watch as the Staple Singers help The Band carry "The Weight." Wintermute now returns you to your regularly
Used, but not abused (Free subscription) | 05/16/2008
This is a place for you to arrange CD swaps with other AoS members. Pop on THIS THREAD what you're looking for, what you have, and arrange a swap with someone. Swap means NO MONEY CHANGES HANDS. Editor’s note: The Cds I’m looking to swap (but only via the Art Of Sound Forum) include: Uncle Tupelo: “No Depression” Info Uncle [...]
BLUES TOWN (The City Of Blues) (Free subscription) | 05/13/2008
Jammed Together is somewhat of a surprise jam disc featuring three musicians with seemingly little in common. Pops Staples, Steve Cropper and Albert King. Pops Staples, the leader of the Staple singers, started his solo career at the ripe age of seventy. Pops played guitar with incredible agility for a man of seventy and his voice has been described as rough and sweet, sometimes wispy but full of soul....
On An Overgrown Path (Free subscription) | 05/03/2008
News of the victory of hard line right-wing candidate Boris Johnson in the election for London mayor causes many of us to be afraid - very afraid . So I was glad I had to hand We'll Never Turn Back , the inspirational new CD from Mavis Staples. The Staples Singers were a major voice in the American civil rights movement and they sung freedom songs including Why Am I Treated So Bad, When Will We Be...
Electric Roulette (Free subscription) | 04/28/2008
We all love Paul Weller. Actually, that's a lie - the majority of the Electric Roulette team loathe him, but in the interests of balance I like him - even if he hasn't made a decent record in a decade....
breath of life (Free subscription) | 04/28/2008
This isn't really a song. It's a suite, an exploration, an emotional rollercoaster and a tour-de-force.
