Chronicle

Product Description:

Producers: Don Davis, Al Jackson, Al Bell, Terry Manning.

Getting his big break as Sam Cooke's replacement in the Soul Stirrers, vocalist Johnnie Taylor may have started out in gospel, but he truly hit his stride (at least as a viable pop artist) when he shifted to R&B and signed to the Stax label in the mid 1960s. This 20-track collection covers Taylor's '60s/'70s run on Stax, beginning with the singer's first major hits--the lightly funky, horn-laden "Who's Makin' Love?" and its like-minded follow-up, "Take Care of Your Homework." Many of these late-'60s/early-'70s tracks feature Stax's mind-blowing assemblage of in-house musicians--from Isaac Hayes on guitar to the Memphis Horns and Booker T. & the MG's--and this top-notch backing only enhances the punch of Taylor's impassioned, raspy style. While this compilation doesn't contain Taylor's later hits (namely the slinky, chart-topping "Disco Lady"), CHRONICLE does an excellent job of surveying his classic Stax years, making it the perfect companion piece to the '76-'80 Columbia anthology RATED X-TRAORDINARE.