As it is with the multiple Woodstock soundtrack albums, it's hard to keep up with what's on the soundtrack discs bearing the name Wattstax in the title, counting the two initial volumes that came out in the 1970s, and now this three-CD package. Making matters more confusing is how, as the title of this set infers, the albums mix music from the festival with music from, or somehow associated with, the film Wattstax (which had some scenes, musical and otherwise, that actually didn't take place at the Wattstax festival itself). And to make matters yet more confusing, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film, for all its generous length, isn't simply a combination of the Wattstax music that appeared in the '70s on either Wattstax, The Living Word: Live Concert Music from the Original Movie Soundtrack or Wattstax: The Living Word, Vol. 2. A lot of tracks from those albums do appear on these three CDs, but some don't; plus, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film adds 17 previously unreleased songs, as well as one (Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft") that previously appeared on Isaac Hayes at Wattstax. It's something of a head-hurting exercise to keep it all straight. But ultimately, the most important thing to bear in mind is that Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film is the best, and certainly most bountiful, of the Wattstax-spawned discs, though it's marred by the exclusion of some previously issued tracks from the other Wattstax releases.
Most of this was indeed recorded at the Wattstax festival on August 20, 1972, featuring live soul from many artists on the Stax label. Most of the best performances from the previous Wattstax iterations were retained, among them well-recorded selections by the Staple Singers (whose four songs include "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There"), Eddie Floyd (doing "Knock on Wood"), the Bar-Kays (whose nine-minute "Son of Shaft/Feel It" is a highlight), Albert King, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor (with an eight-minute "Steal Away"), the Emotions, and Rufus Thomas. Some of the best cuts, however, are found in the dynamic previously unreleased material by lesser-known Stax artists, like Louise McCord's "Better Get a Move On," Lee Sain's "Them Hot Pants," Little Sonny's funk-blues "Wade in the Water," the Newcomers' Jackson Five-like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey," and Mel & Tim's hit "Backfield in Motion." The addition of some gospel songs also reflects the breadth of music at the festival, though the gospel tunes aren't as inspiring as the soul ones. On the whole, it's an important document of some of the better, live-'70s soul recordings. Arguably, however, some of the less interesting, previously unissued songs, should have been excluded to make room for some tracks by Albert King, Johnny Taylor, and Little Milton that showed up on the two Wattstax, the Living Word volumes, but somehow didn't make it onto Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film.
Disc 1
1 Salvation Symphony Warren, Wattstax '72 Orchestra 7:56
2 Introduction Jackson 5:51
3 Lift Every Voice and Sing Weston 3:39
4 Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom) Staple Singers 3:38
5 Are You Sure Staple Singers 4:02
6 I Like the Things About Me Staple Singers 5:55
7 Respect Yourself Staple Singers 4:38
8 I'll Take You There Staple Singers 5:15
9 Precious Lord, Take My Hand Manning 4:25
10 Better Get a Move On McCord 4:01
11 Them Hot Pants Sain 4:10
12 Wade in the Water Little Sonny 4:20
13 I Forgot to Be Your Lover Bell 2:37
14 Explain It to Her Mama Temprees 2:49
15 I've Been Lonely (For So Long) Knight 3:54
16 Pin the Tail on the Donkey Newcomers 2:47
17 Knock on Wood Floyd 3:41
Disc 2
1 Peace Be Still Emotions 9:08
2 Old Time Religion Golden 3:39
3 Lying on the Truth Allen 3:39
4 Up Above My Head Allen 4:02
5 Son of Shaft/Feel It Bar Kays 9:19
6 In the Hole Bar Kays 2:57
7 I Can't Turn You Loose Bar Kays 3:48
8 Introduction Porter 4:03
9 Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One) Porter 3:32
10 Can't See You When I Want To Porter 10:28
11 Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand Porter 3:17
12 Niggas (Spoken Word) Pryor 2:19
13 Arrest/Lineup (Spoken Word) Pryor 2:38
14 So I Can Love You Emotions 6:10
15 /Show Me How [Group Introduction] Emotions 5:37
Disc 3
1 Open the Door to Your Heart Little Milton 7:02
2 Backfield in Motion Mel & Tim 5:30
3 Steal Away Taylor 8:12
4 Killing Floor King 3:49
5 Pick Up the Pieces Thomas 2:53
6 I Like What You're Doing (ToMe) Thomas 3:34
7 B-A-B-Y Thomas 2:50
8 Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes) Thomas 3:10
9 I Have a God Who Loves Thomas 4:43
10 The Breakdown Thomas 4:39
11 Do the Funky Chicken Thomas 4:35
12 Do the Funky Penguin Thomas 5:47
13 I Don't Know What This WorldIs Coming To Soul Children 6:53
14 Hearsay Soul Children 7:30
15 Theme from Shaft Hayes 4:40
¡Aquí!
In 1984, a 45-year-old Tina Turner made one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of American popular music. A few years earlier, it was hard to imagine the veteran soul/rock belter reinventing herself and returning to the top of the pop charts, but she did exactly that with the outstanding Private Dancer. And Turner did so without sacrificing her musical integrity. To be sure, this pop/rock/R&B pearl is decidedly slicker than such raw, earthy, hard-edged Ike & Tina classics as "Proud Mary," "Sexy Ida," and "I Wanna Take You Higher." But she still has a tough, throaty, passionate delivery that serves her beautifully on everything from the melancholy, reggae-influenced "What's Love Got to Do With It" to the gutsy "Better Be Good to Me" to heartfelt remakes of the Beatles' "Help," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," and David Bowie's "1984." A reflection on the emptiness of a stripper's life, the dusky title song is as poignant as it is depressing. Without question, this was Turner's finest hour as a solo artist.
