Subtitled “A Musical Journey,” this four disc (limited edition) box set is a rich collection of one of the most important gospel groups to transfer over into the world of pop music. Covering 1953-76 the anthology includes several highly rare single 45s that were collector items for years, such as the title track.
What comes across here is how the earnest spiritual tunes such as “I Know I Got Religion” and “I Just Can’t Keep It To Myself” feel like the roots of the soul music of the 1960s except for the religious words being replaced by generic terms of “love” and “peace” once taken out of the church context. Still, the material composed by “Pops” Staples that became hits such as “Why Am I Treated So Bad” and the top ten hits such as “I’ll Take You There” “If You’re Ready” and “Respect Yourself” do an impressive job of taking the message from the church out into the streets. The songs started to have more of a social consciousness such as “For What It’s Worth” and “Long Walk To DC” where themes relating to the Vietnam war and civil rights for the blacks became a prominent part of the musical message.
The messages are always uplifting with at least dashes of the church background even in the most “secular” songs, while the music, well, if you haven’t heard people “ havin’ church,” you’re missing an important part of life.
Stax Records