Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The “black Woodstock” held at the Los Angeles Coliseum in August 1972 was a pivotal event in the development of post war R&B music. Though I didn’t get to it, I did get the two double vinyl albums ‘Wattstax: The Living Word’ and 'Wattstax 2' that were released to document the event. Now this lovingly compiled double CD comes and succeeds in separating the wheat from the chaff (the latter being the studio recordings that were cynically inserted into the original two albums) as well as bringing to light a smattering of previously unreleased tracks. Although the main emphasis is of course on mainstream soul acts of the day ranging from the sublime (Johnnie Taylor’s “Steal Away”, Isaac Hayes’ “There From Shaft”) to the ridiculous (Lee Sain’s “Them Hot Pants”, Rufus Thomas’ “Do The Funky Penguin”) there is also a wide swathe of gospel. The latter is of such excellent quality that students of ‘70s gospel should definitely investigate. As well as the crossover masters The Staple Singers, you’ve got a dazzling, nine-minute version of “Peace Be Still” by the Emotions, a couple of smouldering cuts from The Rance Allen Group and gorgeous, previously unheard cuts from Deborah Manning and Louise McCord. With informative sleevenotes this is another example of Ace Records re-issuing with intelligence.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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