Repost/Upgrade from the old blog...The Memphis based Stax label featured male/female duos from the very
start, indeed two of their first releases were by the father and
daughter duo of Rufus and Carla Thomas. It was not until 1969 though,
that the duo idea developed into a full concept. At that time, Al Bell,
the Stax executive, was trying to turn the Stax stable from a
singles based label into an all-round record company with strong album
material. As part of that thrust, the company commissioned a special
project to showcase the best female and male talent in a series of duets
and this led to the release of Boy Meets Girl. In the US this was one
of Stax's few double albums, but when released later here in the UK, only a
single album subset saw the light of day. Given her previous
experience, it was not surprising that Carla Thomas was featured amongst
the female artists on Boy Meets Girl. Carla has vocal pairings with
Johnnie Taylor, William Bell and Eddie Floyd and also with Pervis
Staples of the renowned gospel and secular group the Staple Singers. As
the Staple Singers were a mixed female/male line-up that sang easily and
well together, it made a lot of sense to use the Staples family as the
other main source of artists for the concept. Consequently the
strong voiced Mavis Staples also appears singing with William Bell,
Eddie Floyd and Johnnie Taylor and her sister Cleotha shares a song with
Eddie. All the singers appear on the opening track "Soul-A-Lujah". The
tracks for "Boy Meets Girl" were recorded principally at Ardent studios
in Memphis and at the Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
with the backing musicians which later became known as the Muscle Shoals
Rhythm Section. Additionally, some tracks were worked on at
United Sound and at Terra Shirma studios in Detroit. As well as being
the architect behind the concept, Al Bell was also the principal
producer of the sessions, with help on many tracks from the likes of
Isaac Hayes, Don Davis and Steve Cropper of Booker T & The MGs.
Drawing on a mixture of specially commissioned songs and some
pop/R&B classics such as "That's The Way Love Is", "Piece Of My Heart "
and "All I Have To Do Is Dream", the double album became a clear artistic
success. However, its sales recognition probably suffered from the
project being in the midst of a welter of both Stax singles and album
releases, not all of which could attract Stax's buying public at the
same time. First time re-issued on CD in all it,s glory!..A truly fantastic slab of soul from the royalty at Stax!..Miss this at your peril..you,ll regret it!
AMM
The Tasters!
24 comments:
Lovely set of Stax recordings, thanks for the review AMM
A great idea and great songs! Thanks for review, P.
Thanks AMM - a top-notch collection of artists
Thank you AMM for this compilation
Stax just have to have this yes please AMM
Thanks for the detailed review.
I ain't particular when it comes to soul. Just gimme!
Thanks, AMM!
Thanks, Amm, It looks lovely. I Can't wait to dig into the review!!
Fine Álbum, Thanks For The Upgrade!
Yes. Also, yes.
thanks for the Staxc review AMM
This looks interesting, a few familiar tunes but many rare gems too.
Many thanks AMM for this review
BigD
Thanks, AMM, another fine addition to the collection.
thanks for the nice review AMM
Thank you for the review mate
... and love begins - hopefully ;) Thx for that 🌏☮️🫶🏻
Thanks for the review AMM this is a first for me
I'm a sucker for duets - would love to hear this one ! Many thanks, AMM. RB
Nice comp AMM thanks
Not got this,but should have..subtle hint (PLEASE!)
Cheers!
Bill(b3will@msn.com)
Got the 15 track album but would love the extra tracks here.
Always loved a Stax duet so looking forward to this great collection.
As usual an excellent review, this is the normal on this site. I had this album in the form of a DJ copy. We had a small radio station at the college and they had this album among many other items. Thank you AMM.
it's indeed a fantastic slab of Stax soul AMM
Post a Comment