Soul Comes Home

A fantastic moment in time, captured for all time. More than enough Memphis soul for fans. A couple of odd artistic choices, though.

On April 30, 2003, the legends of Memphis soul reconvened at the site of the old Stax studios to dedicate the new Stax Museum. As the performances prove, however, this music doesn’t live in musty old archives - this is a living, breathing sound. Backed by a limber house band, the sixteen songs here offer ample proof of Memphis soul's continued importance as a historical artifact AND a way of shaking asses and enriching souls.

Most of the Stax artists are alive and performing at or near their peak, which is why the opening notes of Issac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" still audibly galvanize, and why the jazzy touches Booker T. and the M.G.s put on "Green Onions" make it even more danceable than before. There are also Memphis legends that didn't record for the label (two Al Green classics), and Stax alumni from other cities (Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff").

There are some necessary absences. The great Solomon Burke is an excellent choice to pay tribute to Otis Redding on "Try A Little Tenderness," but there's no telling why ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald takes on Otis’ "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay," or why he joins Carla Thomas on "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby." Wilson Pickett is notably absent, his "Mustang Sally" is given the Burke treatment instead. And then there's rapper Chuck D, brought in to give the Bar-Kays' "Soul Finger" a misguided modern relevance it doesn't need; as "Soul Comes Home" proves, this music remains as fresh as tomorrow.