In the ‘60s and early ‘70s, Stax Records was synonymous with Soul and Gospel. The Memphis-based record company and its subsidiaries were the home of some of Soul music’s biggest artists; Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, The Staples Singers and Booker T. & the M.G.’s among others. While some of the artists of the day wrote and recorded their own songs, many performed songs written by other artists just like their “rivals” over at Motown Records. In order to get a writing credit on the song, the songwriter would record a version either at home or in a studio before it was given to another artist to record for their record. When GRAMMY award winning producer Cheryl Pawelski came to work at Concord Records, she came across a treasure trove of old demos from the songwriters at Stax Records. Spending years pouring through these demos, she identified 665 usable demos and whittled it down to 146 songs that are now included in the collection Written in their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos. The collection is being released as a 7-CD box set packaged to look like a hard cover book that includes a 50-page booklet with essays by Pawelski, Robert Gordon and Deanie Parker, Stax’s original Director of Publicity. The seven CDs fall into three categories: The first three are demos that were later recorded and released by artists on Stax or one of its subsidiaries (Volt, We Produce, Enterprise), the fourth CD contains demos that were later released by artists on other labels like Atlantic or Decca, and the final three are demos that were never released or recorded.
The first disc is a standout in the collection for any fan of The Staples Singers. It contains a demo version of “Respect Yourself” written and performed by Mack Rice. The Staples Singers version that would become crossover hit in 1971 is upbeat and full of energy while the demo version is stripped down, played on acoustic guitar with minimal instrumentation. This would also be covered by Bruce Willis on his 1987 album The Return of Bruno as well as by the Kane Gang on their debut album The Bad and Lowdown World of the Kane Gang in 1984. Also included is a four-song run of a session recorded by The Staples Singers for Soul Folk in Action. The alternative versions of “Here My Call, Here,” “Top of the Mountain,” “I See It” and “The Ghetto” are somewhere in between the initial demo version and the finished version.
Disc three has some real stand out tracks as well. Delaney Bramlett’s demo version of “Told You for the Last Time” is just a simple acoustic version with two acoustic guitars and a bit of vocal harmonies. It was covered by Eric Clapton with a lot more guitar and vocal harmonies on his self-titled debut album in 1970. Another huge hit included is the original demo version of “634-5789 (Soulsville, USA)” performed by writer Eddie Floyd. The demo version is just a strummed hollow-bodied electric guitar, piano, and background vocals. This would go on to be recorded by Otis Redding on 1966’s The Soul Album with horns and no backing vocals. It was also recorded by Wilson Pickett in 1966 for his album The Exciting Wilson Pickett as a version much closer to the demo with a similar slow tempo and female backing vocals. A very 80’s synth-pop version was also made by Ry Cooder on his 1980 Borderline album.
One of the most prolific Stax songwriters on the collection is Mack Rice. Besides writing the hit “Respect Yourself,” he has dozens of other great songs like “Dy-No-Mite (Did You Say My Love)” released by the Green Brothers, “Who Made the Man” released by The Staples Singers, and “Without You” released by Aretha Franklin. Many of his songs have a funky vibe to them, like “I Could Never Be Satisfied,” which was released by Bobby Womack and sounds like it could be a Stevie Wonder tune. As the writer of “Mustang Sally” it’s no wonder that he also performed many of his own songs that appear here in demo form, “This Time Yesterday” and “Are We Slippin’ Away” and were later released on his album I Made Music in 1977.
With a total of 146 songs in this collection, it is a veritable treasure trove of soul and R&B songs and serves as a portal to a period of music history that has had a huge impact on music today. The set includes not only songs but also pictures and stories about the Stax songwriters and artists. One example of a gem in the collection is a picture of Stax songwriter Bettye Crutcher with John and Yoko Ono-Lennon and a brief story of how the iconic Beatle actually approached Crutcher and told her he was a fan of her work. This collection is a must have/listen for fans of soul, funk and R&B, and those that appreciate music history.
