Late funkiness from Rufus – a mixture of Memphis groove and boogie, with many of the same elements of his famous funky tunes – including some nice drums that snap on the intro, and a bass part that flips around a lot at the beginning! More "bump" than straight funk, but still nice! 7-inch, Vinyl record

The funkiest man? Could well be – and this set will more than support that case! By the time of these recordings, Rufus Thomas was already a legendary figure in the Memphis scene – an aging R&B star that also worked on radio and did a fair bit of promotion for other artists, including daughter Carla. At the end of the 60s, Stax brought him into the studio with the idea of pumping up his sound a bit – adding in some of the newer funky styles, which proved to be a perfect fit for Rufus' rough-hewn style of vocals. Tracks on the set feature a number of classic singles from these years, plus a few unissued numbers – with an all funky track list that includes "Funkiest Man Alive", "Give Me The Green Light", "Itch & Scratch", "Turn Your Damper Down", "Funky Hot Grits", "I'm Getting Better", "Sophisticated Sissy", "Funky Mississippi", "Git On Up & Do It", "The Breakdown (part 1)", "Push & Pull (part 1)", "Do The Double Bump", "Funky Robot (part 1)", "Memphis Train 75", and "Funky Bird". LP, Vinyl record album

Sure, Rufus was in the grip of "funky fever" at the time, but "Funky Mississippi" is a great cut! The intro alone is worth the price of the single, and has a nice deep heavy funk groove! 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

The first album from Carla Thomas – and one of the first full statements from the burgeoning Stax Records scene of the early 60s! Carla was part of the Stax scene almost from the start – thanks in part to the fact that her father was Rufus Thomas – and she scored big with her own original composition "Gee Whiz, Look At His Eyes" – a single so successful that Stax let Atlantic handle the first full album by Carla, instead of issuing it themselves. The record's got a much sweeter sound than some of Carla's later work – with an approach that's almost uptown soul, and which sets Carla's little girl vocal style amidst fuller arrangements that have a lot of "classy" overtones. The result is a classic bit of 60s soul – and the album features some great original tracks that include "Gee Whiz", "It Ain't Me", "For You", and "A Love Of My Own" – plus versions of "Your Love", "To The Aisle", and "A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue collection of the wealth of work that Carla Thomas did for Stax Records in the 60s – the wonderfully rich first section of her career, when the label was working in strong partnership with Atlantic Records! Carla's the daughter of Memphis soul legend Rufus Thomas – who first brought her to Stax, and helped launch her career – yet right from the start, it was clear that the younger Thomas was a star waiting to shine on her own – one of the first deep soul divas of the 60s to also showcase a strength for more sophisticated styles too – a bit like the blend that Aretha Franklin was recording at Columbia before moving to Atlantic – territory that Carla Thomas clearly held first in the heart of the label! The box brings together 94 tracks in all – a huge amount of Stax material, including all her duets with Otis Redding and Rufus Thomas – plus singles and b-sides too – all with a great presentation and a huge booklet of notes. Titles include "Let Me Be Good To You (live)", "Let It Be Me", "Night Time Is The Right Time", "What Have You Got To Offer Me", "Never Let You Go", "It Takes Two", "Knock On Wood", "Fate", "Looking Back", "For You", "I Didn't Believe", "The Puppet", "What A Fool I've Been", "The Life I Live", "I Fall To Pieces", "Winter Snow", "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", "No Time To Lose", "How Do You Quit", and lots lots more! CD

Herbie Mann kicks Johnny Rivers off the stage of the Whisky A Go Go – and serves up some amazing long tracks that really redefine the sound of jamming on the Sunset Strip! The album's quite unusual for the time – in that it features two long tracks, which each run a side apiece – played by Herbie's hip late 60s group that featured Sonnh Sharrock on guitar and Roy Ayers on vibes – plus Steve Marcus on tenor and Miroslav Vitous on bass! With players like that, you can bet there's a massive sound to the whole thing – one that goes beyond even the boldness of other live Herbie Mann albums – and titles include a long take on Chris Hill's "Ooh Baby", and side two features a great version of Rufus Thomas' classic "Philly Dog". CD

Herbie Mann kicks Johnny Rivers off the stage of the Whisky A Go Go – and serves up some amazing long tracks that really redefine the sound of jamming on the Sunset Strip! The album's quite unusual for the time – in that it features two long tracks, which each run a side apiece – played by Herbie's hip late 60s group that featured Sonnh Sharrock on guitar and Roy Ayers on vibes – plus Steve Marcus on tenor and Miroslav Vitous on bass! With players like that, you can bet there's a massive sound to the whole thing – one that goes beyond even the boldness of other live Herbie Mann albums – and titles include a long take on Chris Hill's "Ooh Baby", and side two features a great version of Rufus Thomas' classic "Philly Dog". LP, Vinyl record album

Damn! Orgone just keep getting better and better – to the point where we might almost say that there's no difference between the strength of the group's sound and all the funky 70s acts that have inspired their music! The instrumentation and production are right on the money throughout – and speaking of inspiration, the group pay tribute to some of their heroes – by taking on tunes by The Meters, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, and many others – but all at a level that makes the tunes completely their own. With Colemine on hand to co-present the record, there's a definite love of heavy funk in the whole production – both on the soulful vocal cuts, and the album's great instrumentals. Titles include "The Black Five", "Cynthy-Ruth", "Think", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Breakdown", "Melting Pot", "It's Serious", "It Ain't No Use", "Cosmic Slop", and "Let Me Be Your Love Maker". CD

Damn! Orgone just keep getting better and better – to the point where we might almost say that there's no difference between the strength of the group's sound and all the funky 70s acts that have inspired their music! The instrumentation and production are right on the money throughout – and speaking of inspiration, the group pay tribute to some of their heroes – by taking on tunes by The Meters, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, and many others – but all at a level that makes the tunes completely their own. With Colemine on hand to co-present the record, there's a definite love of heavy funk in the whole production – both on the soulful vocal cuts, and the album's great instrumentals. Titles include "The Black Five", "Cynthy-Ruth", "Think", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Breakdown", "Melting Pot", "It's Serious", "It Ain't No Use", "Cosmic Slop", and "Let Me Be Your Love Maker". LP, Vinyl record album

Ed Thigpen's a mighty young man for his age – a drummer with decades of experience, but easily able to slide into the excellent group of younger musicians here - a crack lineup that features Terence Blanchard on trumpet, Branford Marsalis on soprano and tenor, Roland Hanna on piano, Rufus Reid on bass, and Bobby Thomas Jr on drums! Ed's recorded so often in a piano trio, that we especially love his albums with horn players – and this date really crackles with the kind of excitement that Thigpen can bring to the right sort of group – almost as if he's showing the world that he could have his own version of the Jazz Messengers if he wanted. Titles include "Shufflin Long", "Oh My Gosh", "Summertime", "Scramble", "Yesterdays", and "Dark Before The Dawn". CD

Includes tracks by Carla Thomas, Charles Heinz, The Veltones, Carla & Rufus, The May-Keys, Prince Conley, Nick Charles, Don Willis, Ray Scott & The Demens, and Hoyt Johnson. CD

This is it! A pretty darn complete document of one of the greatest soul labels of all time – put together in a wonderful box with a book on the label that's almost as great as the music on the 9CDs in the set! This one established a new standard for box sets when it was issued in 1991, and it was the first time you could really get a clear picture of the great work of Stax without spending a lifetime tracking down obscure singles. A portion of this work will be familiar to you – as it includes classic tunes by the likes of Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, The Bar-Kays, Booker T & The MGs, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, William Bell, and others – but there's also a wealth of amazing soul by artists who recorded for Stax and Volt, yet never made it big on the charts, and never cut full albums for the label. Just a small amount of these folks include The Memphis Nomads, Jeanne & The Darlings, Derek Martin, Barbara & The Browns, Eddie Jefferson, The Tonettes, Macy Skipper, The Premiers, Sir Isaac & The Do-Dads, Ruby Johnson, Bobby Wilson, Eddie Purrell, Sir Mack Rice, and many others. A lifetime of listening in one box – and an essential set if you dig 60s soul! This is the nicely compact jewel case version – 9CDs in a box that's roughly 6" square. CD

Includes tracks by Rufus Thomas, the Charmels, Jeanne & The Darlings, Sam & Dave, Memphis Nomads, Mable John, Otis Redding, William Bell, Derek Martin, and more – 27 tracks in all! CD

Classic work by Barbara Lewis, Doris Troy, Chris Kenner, Nat Kendrick & The Swans, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Don Covay, Otis Redding, and Solomon Burke! LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Joe Louis Walker, Luther Allison with the Memphis Horns, Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers, Rufus Thomas with Bonnie Raitt, Deborah Coleman & Bernard Allison, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, Susan Tedeschi, Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band, Bobby Rush & Bonnie Raitt. CD

A compilation of live & re-recorded tracks from Billy Ocean, Eddie Floyd, Dobie Gray, Billy Paul, Clarence Carter, the Tams, Ben E King, Brook Benton, Marvin Gaye, Rufus Thomas, Joe Simon, Jerry Butler & more. CD

Funky genius from the legendary Stax studios! During the 60s, Stax was well known for their work in the soul music field – turning out hit singles by the likes of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others – but after 1968, when the label finished their deal with Atlantic, they really started getting down and dirty, and hitting on all burners in the funk department. This tasty set features 21 tracks from those exiting years –many of them only ever issued on singles, and a few of them by some of the label's more famous LP artists – but all of them with a nice Memphis funky groove! Titles include "Turn Your Damper Down" by Rufus Thomas, "Broadway Freeze" by Harvey Scales, "Life Is Funky" by Round Robin Monopoly, "The Dryer" by Roy Lee Johnson, "She's My Old Lady Too" by Lee Sain, "Slipped & Tripped" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Brothers & Sisters" by Kim Weston, "Movin Dancer" by Bobby Holley, "Eli's Pork Chop" by Little Sonny, "A Man Never Knows" by Chris & Shack, "Grab A Handful" by Art Jerry Miller, "I'll Kill A Brick (About My Man)" by Hot Sauce, "Watch The Dog That Brings The Bone" by Inez Foxx, "Sock Soul" by The Bar Kays, and "Getting Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty! LP, Vinyl record album

A mountain of funk from one of the greatest soul labels of all time! Stax is known round the world over for their soulful work – by singers like Otis Redding or Carla Thomas, and instrumental tunes by Booker T & The MGs – but the label was also quite a funky powerhouse – especially as the 60s drew to a close, and the management of the company got a lot hipper, and a heck of a lot more musically open-minded! This killer batch of tracks features 21 numbers from those days – including many obscure and funky tunes that only ever came out on singles, or which were recorded by artists that never made it as big as Stax stars from earlier years. The result of all that obscurity is an extremely fresh selection of tracks – plenty of down-n-dirty funky 45 numbers, played by hip Memphis combos, and featuring some really deep soul vocals. Titles include "Dark Skin Woman" by Sir Mack Rice, "Ain't No Sin" by John Kasandra, "Bump & Boogie" by The Wrecking Crew, "Shame On The Family Name" by Calvin Scott, "Cool Strut" by Bernie Hayes, "Bump Mean" by Sir Mack Rice, "Soul Machine" by Reggie Milner, "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love" by Katie Love, "Cold Blooded" by The Bar Kays, "Do The Side Saddle" by Rufus Thomas, "Stay Away From That Monkey" by Jimmy McCracklin, "Them Hot Pants" by Lee Sain, "Devil In A Man" by Stu Gardner, "Circuits Overloaded" by Inez Foxx, "From Toys To Boys" by The Emotions, "Got It Together (parts 1 & 2)" by Rudy Robinson & The Hungry Five, and "Crosscut Saw" by Albert King. CD

Featuring work by Kansas City Jimmy, Junior Tamplin, Danny Taylor, Piney Brown, Bumps Myer & His Frantic Five, Junior Ryder, Floyd Turnham, Al Savage, Rufus Thomas, Joe Fritz, Freddie Kholman, Mr Google Eyes, Jimmy Smith, and Milt Trenier & His Solid Fox. LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Rufus Thomas, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich, Howlin' Wolf, the Prisonaires, Sonny Burges, Jackie Brenston & more. CD

Damn! Orgone just keep getting better and better – to the point where we might almost say that there's no difference between the strength of the group's sound and all the funky 70s acts that have inspired their music! The instrumentation and production are right on the money throughout – and speaking of inspiration, the group pay tribute to some of their heroes – by taking on tunes by The Meters, Funkadelic, Rufus Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, and many others – but all at a level that makes the tunes completely their own. With Colemine on hand to co-present the record, there's a definite love of heavy funk in the whole production – both on the soulful vocal cuts, and the album's great instrumentals. Titles include "The Black Five", "Cynthy-Ruth", "Think", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "Breakdown", "Melting Pot", "It's Serious", "It Ain't No Use", "Cosmic Slop", and "Let Me Be Your Love Maker". CD

1968 was the world of revolution around the world – and to our music-trained ears, one of the greatest revolutions occurred at the legendary Stax Records! Before that year, the label had been working with Atlantic Records – who totally screwed them, and took away all their catalog – leaving Stax to start completely from scratch, and reinvent themselves as an even more righteous company in the process! Make no mistake, Stax was already a pretty great company before – the leading light of the Memphis soul scene – but in 1968, the company went back to basics, and also embraced new waves of funk and blues, freed up to go into some very groovy territory. This 5CD set documents that amazing time – by bringing together all the singles released in 1968, both a-sides and b-sides – along with a big booklet of notes and photos that not only talk about the changes at the label, but also the city of Memphis in the tragic year of 1968 – which also saw the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King. The package is overflowing with as much history as it is soul music – and features over 120 songs by artists who include Booker T & The MGs, Linda Lynell, Judy Clay, Harvey Scales, Otis Redding, The Memphis Nomads, Shirley Walton, Bar-Kays, Ollie & The Nightingales, William Bell, The Goodees, Mable John, The Epsilons, The Soul Children, Mad Lads, Charmells, Lindell Hill, Jimmy Hughes, Delaney & Bonnie, Dino & Doc, Daaron Lee, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Derek Martin, Johnnie Taylor, and many more! CD

Funky genius from the legendary Stax studios! During the 60s, Stax was well known for their work in the soul music field – turning out hit singles by the likes of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others – but after 1968, when the label finished their deal with Atlantic, they really started getting down and dirty, and hitting on all burners in the funk department. This tasty set features 21 tracks from those exiting years –many of them only ever issued on singles, and a few of them by some of the label's more famous LP artists – but all of them with a nice Memphis funky groove! Titles include "Turn Your Damper Down" by Rufus Thomas, "Broadway Freeze" by Harvey Scales, "Life Is Funky" by Round Robin Monopoly, "The Dryer" by Roy Lee Johnson, "She's My Old Lady Too" by Lee Sain, "Slipped & Tripped" by The Sweet Inspirations, "Brothers & Sisters" by Kim Weston, "Movin Dancer" by Bobby Holley, "Eli's Pork Chop" by Little Sonny, "A Man Never Knows" by Chris & Shack, "Grab A Handful" by Art Jerry Miller, "I'll Kill A Brick (About My Man)" by Hot Sauce, "Watch The Dog That Brings The Bone" by Inez Foxx, "Sock Soul" by The Bar Kays, and "Getting Funky Round Here" by Black Nasty! CD