MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE COMPLETE STAX/VOLT SINGLES 1959 - 1968

Too hard to find for years, finally reissued, this 1991 compilation has to be in the top ten all-time of box sets. It has everything. There are nine CD's, each one over 70 minutes, stuffed with 244 tracks. There's an incredible booklet, written by Grammy Award-winner Rob Bowman from Toronto (he won for Vol. 3 of this series). It's comprehensive, as it features every A-side of every single released by the company during these years, as well as several important B-sides. And, it's simply awesome musically.


You'll know the big names of course: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the MG's. If you're a southern soul fan, you'll know some of the secondary acts, or some of their hits: Eddie "Knock On Wood" Floyd, Carla "Gee Whiz" Thomas. If you're a collector, this just knocks your socks off. The brilliant Mable John, once a Raelette with Ray Charles, is featured with her best-known cut, Your Good Thing (Is about to end), but it gets better and better over the collection, with one rich vocal after another. The second-line hits, barely remembered now and never played on radio, pack just as powerful a punch. Floyd's Big Bird is dramatic, killer. Carla Thomas made several appearances on the charts, but it's shocking she didn't have more top hits.


Then there's her dad, Rufus. Often thought of as the clown prince of the label, a disc jockey with a string of early hits based on the dance the Dog, shows his funky grooves each time out, with The Memphis Train maybe the best, without a gimmick in it. One-hit vocal groups the Mad Lads, The Astors and Jeanne & the Darlings prove to be rich in material. Then there are the one-time-only appearances, such as the Four Shells, cuts that can often prove to be great discoveries. Check out their Hot Dog on YouTube.


The story of the label has been well-documented, especially by Bowman in his exhaustive notes and companion book, Soulsville U.S.A. - The Story of Stax Records, a must-read. So it's no secret how this great music happened, an incredible only-in-Memphis blend of white and black, rhythm 'n' blues and country, tremendous musical talent, everyone in the right place at the right time. The players, producers and writers were key, the same as at Motown, only they were better-known than their Detroit competitors, because they were mostly recording artists too: Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Booker T., Al Jackson, Isaac Hayes and Dave Porter are responsible for most of the cuts, in some way, which explains the consistent high level of quality from start to finish.


The finish of this set, the first of three boxes, comes at the end of the label's golden era. First, Redding was killed in a plane crash as he was about to become a huge star to white audiences. Then, the label's fruitful partnership with Atlantic Records collapsed, and the owners discovered they'd been screwed by the New Yorkers, who had managed to get them to sign a contract giving Atlantic the rights to all the classic records, forever. There's much more to the story, which is why I also recommend Bowman's book, but in the meantime, there's lots to learn in the notes here, and of course, one of the great collections of the '60's or any other time.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: CLASSIFIED - GREATFUL

The insanely catchy single from the new album by Halifax (er, Enfield) favourite Classified, No Pressure, features a classic guest spot from Snoop Dogg, who happened to be in town last summer shooting a Trailer Park Boys episode. Snoop admits he doesn't really know where he is, some place in Nova Scotia. It's a fun moment in a great song, and a good celeb cameo.


Thing is, musically Classified certainly doesn't need any help from outside, he's still doing just great in his hometown, delivering another set of rich, superior productions, smart lyrics and strong tunes for album 15. And when he wants collaborators, he always has a great list of friends from right in town. David Myles is back after the massive success of Inner Ninja from the last album, joining on the cut Work Away, about flying across the country for jobs. Myles also helped write a couple more, and shows up on horns, guitar and piano too. Another frequent collaborator, Ria Mae helps with some writing and lots of singing, plus there's Josh Van Tassel drumming on one, Classified's brother Mike Boyd doing lots, and tons of real strings, courtesy of Drew Jurecka. That's the thing with these cuts, you're getting musical value for your money on each track, as they are all brimming with sounds and ideas.


On the rap side, the honesty and maturity of Classified's rhymes can be startling and inspiring. Whether he's talking about being a father, a husband, a community member or a performer, he comes at it from a sold moral centre. Snoop Dogg should have learned a little more about where he was, and perhaps picked up a lesson about respect for women while he was at it, that's just one of the themes here.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: POOR NAMELESS BOY - BRAVERY

Beats me how a Saskatchewan boy knows how to write about the Atlantic Ocean, but Joel Henderson (aka Poor Nameless Boy) nails it on the song of that title, plus the cut Dream Boat, where he's sailing with a few too many dreams to take on another, perhaps a lover, we're not told. Anyway, sailing imagery is just one of his strengths, on his second, very strong collection.


Henderson's an acoustic storyteller, with that magic touch, the ability to paint a word picture that immediately stands out. In Saturn, we meet the woman with "Cherubim angels tattooed on her arms/Guarding the garden with flaming swords." In Fairy Tale, we find out he's "crossed too many bridges with trolls underneath." In short, the kind of lines that make you look up from Facebook and realize something's going in these songs.


There's some evocative violin gliding through several of the songs, and a couple of times, a full band comes along to lively up the pace through these 10 cuts. Mostly though, we're hear to listen to his fine voice, positive demeanor, and inspiring lyrics.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE TOWN HEROES - PLEASE, EVERYONE

Sheesh, I'm still getting caught up on my pre-Christmas releases that piled up in the blitz. I've been listening to the new Town Heroes set for weeks, but I'm just now getting around to putting thoughts down, so if you haven't grabbed it yet, hopefully this will catch your interest.


As always, our Heroes give us more sounds and energy than should be humanly possible from just a duo. But while they can make a mighty noise with crushing riffs and nuclear drums, the songs are cleverly, sneakily about a lot more than volume and fun. Of course, if that's what you're looking for, there's plenty of that in store too, don't get me wrong. Just consider the other stuff.


First off, the new album just drips with beautiful melodies, every song as tuneful as can be. Then there's Mike Ryan's aching vocals, sung almost completely in falsetto, with a particularly sad and thoughtful manner. That's because the topics are pretty heavy, from the personal to great big world-wide issues. The title cut spells it out, a call to look at the great big mess it all is: "Please, everyone, what have done?" Ryan doesn't point finger at everybody else though, admitting his own failures readily in the cut Baton Rouge: "The only way I've ever learned was through fucking up and getting burned."


With all this melancholy going on, you expect some down numbers, and there are a couple, including the album closer, Soldiers. Really though, the band has mastered the technique of putting a lot of substance into some very energetic, accessible and enjoyable music. It's a perfect night out for everybody then, The Town Heroes make you party, and make you think.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: SUSIE ARIOLI - SPRING

The highly-regarded Montreal jazz singer surprises on her new album with the introduction of a new skill set, songwriting. Four of the dozen tracks are her own compositions, songs that not only stand up well with the covers here, but actually set the tone for the whole album.


The title cut is one of hers, a clever lyric in the Ella-Songbook style, easy and bouncy. Someone Else glides along over a gentle bossa nova. Can't Say No has a bit of a country touch, while opening cut Loverboy makes it clear the set will be filled with strongly-crafted collaborations between the singer, arranger and musicians.


Working closely with pianist Don Thompson, who arranged the numbers, Arioli always approaches the songs with just the right amount of vocal energy, never trying to to add too much. There's an easiness to the album, plenty of swing, and lots of subtlety in her phrasing. There's also lots of impeccable playing from the large cast of musicians, including five horns, with Thompson's piano and vibes leading the way, along with a few stand-out trumpet and sax solos. Produced by the acclaimed John Snyder (Dave Brubeck, Etta James, Derek Trucks, Bill Withers, etc.), as you can imagine from all this, Spring sounds fresh for all these reasons.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: JOHN MCKINLEY - WINDOW ON THE WORLD

A long-time blues-rock presence in Kitchener, Ontario, McKinley has been storing it up for decades, this being his debut disc. No surprise that it's all original material, all sorts of styles and confident. Much of the variety comes from his roots, as he's from Roswell, New Mexico (ya, that Roswell), and he cut his playing teeth on everything from Texas blues to Mexican styles to flashy guitar rock.


There's a good reason for the flashy rock stuff; McKinley is a monster player, and each song has him playing some pretty awesome stuff. So you get everything from straight-forward solos to explosive pyrotechnics. He's not afraid to go nuts on occasion, and likes to drop a quirky line in even when the song is pretty regular. Plus, the out-there and wild solos at first made me think it was some young hotshot doing all this, the sounds were so different. But he's old enough to have a 35-year old son, who happens to be playing bass throughout.


Passionate Man is the catchiest song here, with a great melody, just a little more rock than blues. Actually that sums up the whole album, blues-rock, heavy on the rock, especially good for guitar fans. What really sells it though is that he sings 'em well too, so these never feel like vehicles for the guitar playing, he's giving us the whole package.

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE AVETT BROTHERS - LIVE VOL. FOUR

The Avett Brothers always put on a show, and for New Years Eve 2014, there had to something extra for fans. So the group invited a special guest: Father Time himself. We see the old dude in a series of vignettes, wandering around outside the venue, checking out an amusement park, getting hammered in the hotel bar. Finally, he joins the group for the traditional countdown, a little on-stage partying, and then taking lead vocals on a ragged but celebratory The Boys Are Back In Town. And, we get to see it all on DVD.


Or listen on CD, which is kind of weird, as they keep the dialogue and Father Time scenes, a visual experience. In fact, I'd argue that The Avett Brothers are always more of a visual experience, a great group party best observed with a sold-out crowd than heard on your own. They do everything big, even the ballads, turning the quiet lines into mass sing-alongs, especially the once-thoughtful I and Love and You.


Each year, the band gets bigger, and now features seven members, all plucking and sawing away. So even though they are still ostensibly an acoustic band, with banjo and fiddle and cello, you're talking about a great big acoustic Wall of Sound, powered by a rapturous crowd ready to cheer every light cue and on-stage fist pump. I think most fans enjoy the theatrics, but I worry that the nuances of songs such as Kick Drum Heart are being buried in the excitement, the bigger, the louder. Or, maybe I should just give it up and party.