| | Staple Singers Be What You Are CD Staple Singers Discography of CDs
 (1 Customer Review)
The follow-up to 1972's career-defining BEATITUDE: RESPECT YOURSELF, 1973's BE WHAT YOU ARE is both a refinement and a bit of a retreat. The hit singles were fewer and made less of a dent on the charts, with only "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" and "Touch A Hand, Make A Friend" reaching the Top 40. There's also a distinct move away from the pop-soul feel of "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself," and a shift towards the group's strong gospel roots that's obvious even in their choice of R&B covers. Bill Withers's "Grandma's Hands" gets an excellent treatment, for example, and Bettye Crutcher's no-nonsense "Drown Yourself" features a powerful solo performance by Mavis Staples (who officially and rightfully positions herself as the group's lead singer on this album). A worthy follow-up to the Staple Singers' best album, BE WHAT YOU ARE is a fine second purchase for the converted fan; newcomers, however, might be better off with either its predecessor or one of the many compilations.
Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (1990, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).
The Staple Singers: Roebuck Staples (guitar, vocals); Mavis Staples, Cleotha Staples, Yvonne Staples (vocals).
Mojo (Publisher) (5/02, p.120) - "...Tremendous...contains some of their most passionate, inspiring and forthright work..." Staple Singers Be What You Are Songs Be What You Are Music Review Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)  The Staple Singers' 5th album with Stax; still soulful..
Another neat title of the Staple Singers, 1973's "Be What You Are", contains more songs about getting along with other people in everyday life. The title track is excellent, which tells people to "be what they are" and not have to do the exact same things other people do all the time; in other words, they tell you to be yourself and do your own things in life (as long as they are appropriate). Another satisfying group of songs. I like the ones of "That's What Friends are For", the almost nine minute medley of "Love Comes in all Colors/Tellin' Lies", "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)", and "Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)", as well as the title track.
Submitted by Matt (Macomb, IL, USA)
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Purchase Be What You Are CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Staple Singers Beatitude: Respect Yourself CD (1972)
Be What You Are album
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Those who would rather explore the Staple Singers with an original album instead of one of the many compilations should start with 1972's BEALTITUDE: RESPECT YOURSELF. The album was their most commercially successful, spawning two Top Ten hits in "Respect Yourself" and the glorious "I'll Take You There." The ultimate fusion of the Staple Singers' gospel roots and Curtis Mayfield-style soul, ...
| | Harold Mabern Few Miles From Memphis CD (1968)
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On A Few Miles from Memphis, recorded by pianist Harold Mabern in 1968, he's joined by tenors George Coleman and Buddy Terry, bassist Bill Lee, and drummer Walter Perkins for a bluesy, rhythm-filled set featuring familiar fare like "A Treat for Bea" and fun originals like "Walkin' Back." There's also the odd inclusion of "There's a Kind of Hush," a pop song that comes out sounding like an old standard here. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.
When record labels like Prestige release two albums on one CD, it's a great bargain for music fans. A Few Miles from Memphis combines the album of the same name and Rakin' and Scrapin', both recorded by pianist Harold Mabern in 1968. On the first set he's joined by tenors George Coleman and Buddy Terry, bassist Bill Lee, and drummer Walter Perkins for a bluesy, rhythm-filled set featuring familiar fare like "A Treat for Bea" and fun originals like "Walkin' Back." There's also the odd inclusion of "There's a Kind of Hush," a pop song that comes out sounding like an old standard here. The second set includes a similar setup but inserts trumpeter Blue Mitchell into the lineup and brings drummer Hugh Walker on board. There's a nice take on "Rakin' and Scrapin'" with some great solo work by Mitchell and Coleman, and a solid version ...
| | Arcade Fire Funeral CD (2004)
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This Montreal ensemble's fiery debut is marked by surging guitars, soulful strings, driving drums, brilliant bass lines, and the quavering vocals of married couple Win Butler and Regine Chassagne. The group's song structures careen through a vast territory of musical and personal history, with lyrics warm with memories of childhood neighborhoods and deceased loved ones, resulting in an alternating current of joy and sadness.
Favorably compared to the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Broken Social Scene, the Arcade Fire's sound seems to come from a lifetime of listening to the Cure, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, and many others--even a dose of soul gets worked into these grand anthems. Chassagne delivers some spellbinding vocals on "Haiti," while the tinkling piano and strings on "Crown of Love" conjure up a heartbroken surfside prom. In 2004, this made many critics' year-end lists, and ...
| | Ike & Tina Turner Nutbush City Limits/Feel Good CD (2006) Bonus Tracks
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Raven's 2006 two-fer Nutbush City Limits/Feel Good combines two of Ike & Tina Turner's last albums together and adds five bonus tracks, three of which were taken from other Ike & Tina albums from the early '70s, one taken from a Tina solo record, and one disco mix of "Nutbush City Limits." The album that arrives first on this two-fer was actually the last of these two to be released: Nutbush City Limits appeared in 1973, a year after Feel Good, but its title track is one of Ike & Tina's best-known songs so it's an appropriate choice to kick off this disc. Besides, the two records are so similar in tone and approach, it'd be easy to assume that Feel Good arrived before Nutbush, but that isn't to say they're interchangeable. Both records are hard day-glo funk, overloaded with fuzz guitars, wah wahs, clavinets and horn sections, but of the two, Nutbush City Limits is a bit closer to gritty deep soul thanks to a slow-burning cover of Dobie Gray's country-soul classic "Drift Away," the gospel-fied "That's My Purpose," a churning, funky reworking of "You Are My Sunshine," and, of course, the hard-driving title track, which mythologizes Tina's country upbringing. Of course, "rootsy" in this context is a relative term, since Nutbush City Limits still feels like '70s funk even with all the country flourishes; songs as greasy as the ...
| | Raga For Peter Walker CD (2006) Digipak
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Many of the legends of acoustic guitar in the 20th century have already passed on -- John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Ali Farka Toure. Due partially to his spare recording career, Peter Walker's own reputation has not always been as well known as those of said giants, but his own influence has been considerable. A Raga for Peter Walker -- a tribute album that, in a nice touch, not only consists of work composed by its contributors rather than simply offering up covers but also features some original work by its subject in question -- helps to demonstrate this while he is still here to receive acknowledgement ...
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