Why is Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles 1959-1968 on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
Plug in and get supercharged anywhere you like with this massive 244 song compilation.
What does Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles 1959-1968 mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
At a massive 244 songs (Spotify classifies the total length at “about 10 hours”!), it’s hard to know where to begin with this massive collection that ranges over nearly a decade of music from the likes of Otis Redding, Booker T. & The MG’s, Rufus Thomas, Sam & Dave, Albert King, and many others.
For example, when I listen to the first track on the album, “Fool In Love,” by The Veltones, each time it finishes I throw it on again because it’s so good and compelling. I love the combination of crooning doo-wop vocals, early 1960s rock, and a gorgeous little surf rock twang on the running guitar line.
You can really do almost no wrong by diving in anywhere in this collection, but hunt around enough and you’ll stumble across massive hits. Example: “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” a gorgeous R&B/soul song that shows off Otis Redding’s iconic vocal stylings.
I also dig Redding’s more upbeat “Mr. Pitiful” quite a bit.
“Hold On! I’m A Comin’,” by Sam & Dave, might be one of many songs where you won’t recognize the name of the song or even the artist but when you listen to it you’ll say, “Oh, of course I know that one.” This is indeed is one of those, and it has a classic driving soul-rock song that you’ll surely appreciate.
These examples obviously only scratch the surface. Plug in, enjoy, and get supercharged.
Some stats & info about Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles 1959-1968
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? R&B, Blues, Soul, Memphis Soul, Southern Soul, Doo Wop
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles 1959-1968 released? 1991
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #708 out of 1,000
Stax-Volt: The Complete Singles 1959-1968on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.