DOUBLE DYNAMITE. AS ADVERTISED.

One of the first soul LPs I ever bought was The Best of Sam and Dave. It was a great one to start with. It had hits and a lot of songs that I didn't recognize. Even though I bought the LP long after the material was recorded, if the rest of the songs were hits, they weren't big enough to make it to the oldies stations a decade or two after being released. It was a great LP. They recorded most of the songs, if not all, at Stax backed by Booker T and the MGs. Their voices are perfect together and the unscripted "ad-libs" between lines makes it feel like you're there.

I'm sure many of you have heard "Soul Man" their biggest hit, probably a million times. Even if you have, listen to it again without distractions. Really listen. It's an excellent song. There's one part, at 1:14, where one of them says "Play it Steve" right before a guitar lick. I remember how proud I was once I put together pieces of liner notes from different LPs and deducted that "Steve" was Steve Cropper of the MGs. This was years before the internet so without the aid of liner notes it would have taken a trip to the library or contacting a music egghead. Liner notes, folks, liner notes.

I still listen to that Best of LP pretty often...oh, that reminds me. If you really like a song, or multiple songs, by a particular artist, do yourself a favor. Don't just download a song or two. Shell out for a compilation of the artist, Greatest Hits or other. You really can't judge any artist by one song. And, if you're like me, it might open up a rabbit hole leading to other artists on the same wavelength, or recorded at the same recording studio or with the same producer or just give you a tip for a record label with similar fare. Though the Sam and Dave LP was on Atlantic, because they recorded at Stax that opened up a plethora of other artists to check out.

Here's just a few from Sam & Dave. You really need check the video. It's a Stax Volt tour in Norway in 1967 with Otis Redding, Booker T and the MGs and Sam and Dave. (Otis Redding opens it, with Booker T and the MGs at 2:58, Sam and Dave at 7:18 and more Otis Redding at 17:38.) This is the good shit with a lot of sweat.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~ 

Listen:
Sam and Dave - Soul Man mp3 at Internet Archive
Sam and Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin' mp3 at Internet Archive
Sam and Dave - You Don't Know Like I Know mp3 at Internet Archive
Sam and Dave - You Don't Know What You Mean to Me (streaming) at YouTube
Sam and Dave - It's a Wonder mp3 at Mr. Suave