Stax's Best Kept Secret
thestaxman | Jackson, MS United States | 05/03/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First of all, let's examine the statement Stax's best kept secret. In many ways, the Memphis label was and is America's best kept secret. The roster at Stax during it's "golden age" when every single artist was backed by the greatest and tightest band of all time, Booker T. & the MGs, was simply to die for. There's The King of Soul, Otis Redding whose legacy to many, unfortunately seems to be tied to one song. The great "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" honestly pales in comparison to at least two or three dozen other masterpieces he recorded. The label also had, hands down, the greatest Blues guitarist to ever live in the still criminally unheralded (not in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame!) Albert King. Terrific singer/songwriters William Bell and Eddie Floyd, who should both be household names like any old Motown artist gets to be, released countless songs that rivaled the Detroit's company chart friendly pop smashes. They had Memphis's other king, Rufus and his daughter Carla Thomas, known as "Aretha before there was Aretha". On loan from their distributor, Atlantic Records, Double Dynamite - Sam (Moore) & Dave (The great and underrated Prater). And with Johnnie Taylor, they created some of the best Blues and Soul records ever made, and they are all but forgotten about today.
And I say to you, after all that, Ruby Johnson was their best kept secret. An enigma, a mystery. What happened! Stax released ONLY THREE singles on this potential goldmine. In 1993 (Thankfully six years before her passing), this consistently superb set was issued among other CDs with lost and never released treasures by Stax artists including Rufus Thomas, William Bell, and Booker T. & the MGs. This long overdue Johnson set gives us the three singles - "I'll Run Your Hurt Away" (the title track), the great sexy Blues number "When My Love Comes Down", the soulful "If I Ever Needed Love (I Sure Do Need It Now)" with really nice work by the famed bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, their flip sides, and fourteen equally excellent tracks that God knows why were not released. All stack up with anything the label released during this time (1966-67). That is no small feat because this company literally did not put out a bad record in this prime period.
Vocally reminiscent of Etta James, Johnson belts out tunes penned by Stax's finest including the team behind Sam & Dave's brilliant output, Isaac Hayes & David Porter, and guitarist Steve Cropper, who is typically perfect on every track. Also featured here is an inspired cover of Ben E. King's "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" and the absolutely fantastic "Need Your Love So Bad" credited as written by Stax label mate Mable John, but actually written by her brother Little Willie John of "Fever" fame.
No guitar player in the history of popular music has been better playing behind vocalists than Cropper. This ranks with his best work supporting the likes of Otis Redding and Johnnie Taylor. In fact, the MGs' style and Mar-Keys horn arrangements for Johnson are similar to the direction they were going with Taylor pre "Who's Makin' Love?". This is a perfect mix of deeply soulful female R&B and steamy "smoke-filled room" cool Blues that sounds so fresh and infinitely better than what the reigning "divas" of R&B produce today. What happened! It wasn't just that Ruby Johnson could've been a contender, she should've been a superstar!
"
Great Southern Soul
Jack F. Chavoor | Fresno, CA | 10/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ruby Johnson is an answer to the musical question, "What if Wilson Pickett was a woman?"
Great stuff."
Old Memories
Yvonne S. Sullivan | Atlanta GA | 08/25/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Cd brings back old meories of years gone by. The sound quality is cyrstal clear."
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1
