The Staple Singers Be What You Are (remastered)

By the early '70s, despite a roster that included the Dramatics and Isaac Hayes, Stax Records was winding down. The Staple Singers, signed to the label in the late '60s, always provided hit singles and respected album efforts. Despite their gospel beginnings, the Staple Singers' biggest draws became Pops Staples' blues-based "devil's music" guitar and Mavis Staples' breathy and sexy vocals.

The Staples' finest single album, containing three Top Ten R&B hits, "Respect Yourself," "I'll Take You There," and "This World." The first two also were pop Top 20s, "I'll Take You There" going all the way to number one. AllMusic Review by Rob Bowman

Gospel-soul pioneers the Staple Singers will have their storied Stax years commemorated with the December release by Craft Recordings of six individual albums. Featuring: Soul Folk in Action, We’ll Get Over, The Staple Swingers, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, Be What You Are and City in the Sky.

Their second Stax release was similar to Soul Folk in Action. The album's highlight is Randall Stewart's "When Will We Be Paid?" AllMusic Review by Rob Bowman

The Staples' story goes all the way back to 1915 in Winona, Mississippi, when patriarch Roebuck "Pops" Staples entered the world. A contemporary and familiar of Charley Patton's, Roebuck quickly became adept as a solo blues guitarist, entertaining at local dances and picnics. He was also drawn to the church, and by 1937 he was singing and playing guitar with the Golden Trumpets, a spiritual group based out of Drew, Mississippi. Moving to Chicago four years later, he continued playing gospel music with the Windy City's Trumpet Jubilees. A decade later Pops Staples (as he had become known) presented two of his daughters, Cleotha and Mavis, and his one son, Pervis, in front of a church audience, and the Staple Singers were born.

The best and most famous cuts from their glory years at Stax. Includes their massive hits "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There"; less famous but similar gospel-funk fusions like "Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)" and "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)"; and less expected items like a cover of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." It does not, however, have their 1975 number one single "Let's Do It Again," which they recorded just after cutting their ties to Stax. AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger

City in the Sky, the final LP that the Staple Singers made with Stax Records, features the same socially conscious lyrics and powerful singing that had become their trademark before the album's 1974 release. While the original recording didn't have the kind of explosive singles like "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There" that helped them become legends of soul music, this is by no means a weak album. The opener "Back Road Into Town" seethes with energy and anger-tinged pride, while "Washington We're Watching You" combines that same message of anger and pride with organ and horn-driven funk.

All the greatest gospels in remastered original versions. Find all the magic of the gospel through 100 essential tracks.

Rhino's five-disc box set Respect: A Century of Women in Music was surely assembled with the best of intentions, but it doesn't quite work. First of all, any collection that focuses solely on "the female contribution" comes off as a little condescending, no matter how good the intentions are. Still, the concept has enough weight to make for at least an interesting listen. However, any compilation that spans nearly 100 years and every conceivable popular musical genre is bound not only to be incomplete, but too sweeping to be totally effective. The scope is impressive, as are the featured artists – think of any major female musician and they're likely to be here, unless it's Joni Mitchell (Kim Gordon and Kim Deal are also missing, as are several other similarly minded post-punk rockers and various pop and folk singer/songwriters, but no omission is as shocking as Mitchell's) – but the overall effect is somewhat bewildering.