#353a VA - Top of the Stax Vol 1.

Now I have to resort to the compilation section of the allmusic guide. Diminishing returns. This one played on the way back from SF, from the start of the bay bridge to some little rest stop dallop just as the 5 starts up. Note: waaaay behind on this, and low on albums - in the middle of the Boston move.

This really is a good compilation: totally listenable, smooth and exciting at turns, providing a really nice overview of the music and themes of the label and the times. It's also really expertly curated, coming across as a wry meditation on love, frustration, loss and jealousy. Consider this sequence, starting at track 5:
5. A song about loving a man, and threatening another woman to stay away.
6. A song about being the other woman, and accepting it, but finding a desperate solace in demanding that there be no other-other-woman
7. A song about how a man should stay with a woman, even if he doesn't love her, as a matter of practicality.
8. A song about the stupid stuff love makes you do
9. A song of regret about not being the kind of man a man should be to his lover
10. A song taking the piss out of the idea of a man who thinks he's so very special

There's countless themes, overlapping and interplaying in that sequence alone. We see both sides of the "other woman" situation, we see the mindset of the cheating man, we see how love is a matter of foolishness and folly in ways good and bad, we see weighty pathos knocked against dismissive jibing. In short, this isn't just a by-the-numbers run through the Stax record company's output, its an attempt to explore the themes of the funky, prickly, lovesick R&B that is at its heart.

On the actual music side, you mostly know the sound: great bass, simple beats, excellent vocal delivery - you might know Mr. Big Stuff, Sitting by the Dock of the Bay and the theme from Shaft, and those are reasonable touchstones.

This was perfect for my drive, and totally good hangout music - great stuff 4.5/5

You might like this if: You're looking for something groovy to have on, with a bit of a brash, rough edge to it, and lovelorn valleys. You're looking for a crash course in some of the best R&B and soul of the 60's and 70's.