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Post by rooster on Apr 9, 2018 14:09:01 GMT -5
Which do you prefer, more highly polished Motown Sound or The grittier, earthier sound of Stax Records. Motown certainly produced more hits, but Stax seems to appeal on a much more visceral level. I
I guess in modern terms it comes down to a "Northern Soul" Vs "Southern Soul" question.
a prime example of the Motown thing: The Temptations
Gritty Stax Sounds: Sam And Dave
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Post by JamesP on Apr 9, 2018 14:28:27 GMT -5
They are both great in their own way.
But being an old Memphis man, I'm partial to Stax. I tend to put them in the R&B category though
Gotta love Otis Redding, Booker T, and the MarKeys
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Post by jbone on Apr 9, 2018 14:41:03 GMT -5
Both had their fine points. For me it depended on mood at the moment.
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Post by JamesP on Apr 9, 2018 15:52:51 GMT -5
I guess my sentiments are based largely on the period in history I relate Stax to. It was a time for change.
As Sam Cooke said, "A change is gonna come"
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Post by kinuta on Apr 10, 2018 4:45:45 GMT -5
That's a cherries vs peaches question. Obviously both, but wouldn't it be fair to also include Atlantic ?
They were the soundtrack to my teenage years. Little did I know I'd still be listening to them 50 odd years later.
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Post by jmuscara on Apr 11, 2018 6:54:23 GMT -5
I read a review in a magazine (probably Musician) of the first Stax/Volt Singles box set that led me to buy it back in the early 90s. While I had heard some versions of some of those songs, I was pretty unfamiliar with the catalog. I listened to that entire set of 9 CDs (I think) and it still gets a pretty heavy rotation. I loved it. It changed me.
Years later I found a slightly similar compilation of Motown singles. I love that too.
They're both great, but definitely different as some of you have described.
My wife once asked me about Beatles vs. Stones and if I could only have one. In that case, I'd pick the Stones, but the Beatles were absolutely fantastic too and I'd hate to have to choose. Same goes for Stax vs. Motown.
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Post by rooster on Apr 12, 2018 12:16:10 GMT -5
That's a cherries vs peaches question. Obviously both, but wouldn't it be fair to also include Atlantic ? They were the soundtrack to my teenage years. Little did I know I'd still be listening to them 50 odd years later. We could include Atlantic as well as Stax and Motown, but Atlantic by the 1960s were pretty diversified, musically speaking. Whereas Stax and Motown were specifically Soul/R&B/Gospel labels. Atlantic had several very popular Soul artists. Many of them Recorded in the South at Rick Hall's Fame Studios, Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and, of course, at the Stax Studios which was distributed by Atlantic for a time. A fair number of Atlantic artists were Stax/Volt Artists. rooster
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Post by rooster on Apr 12, 2018 12:20:17 GMT -5
I do appreciate all of the responses, thus far. It's an interesting dialog. It would appear that nearly everyone is on the fence. That's OK. We can like both. rooster
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