Rating: 
Summary: The Primer For Soul Music
Review: If you want a starting place in your search to find REAL Soul music, look no further than this book. Guralnick points you in the right direction. It is very clear that he loves the subject matter. He investigated the legends, and reports as much truth as will come to light, about performers like Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, James Brown, Sam Cooke, Arthur Alexander, Aretha Franklin, James Carr, O.V. Wright, Al Green, Wilson Pickett, and many others. There is also a history of Stax Records that Rob Bowman used as a reference for his epic history of the label. And there's a comprehensive discography, which has been updated for the CD era. Guralnick let the story take him wherever it led, even if he didn't always like the conclusions. It is an honest book and a good read. I write a lot of reviews on Soul music. Much of what I know about the roots of Soul, I learned from this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Soul of Stax, Bravo channel 's cable program, I want a copy!
Review: Like a lot of you, sure looking forward to the reprinting of Sweet Soul Music! Got "borrowed" years ago and never returned! And now I'm dying to get a video copy of Bravo's Soul of Stax special, did anyone copy it? Be glad to send payment, trade video, whatever! Please contact George Middleman, P.O. Box 61142, Denver, CO. 80206 if you have this show on tape! Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Labor of Love
Review: Like Robert Palmer's superb "Deep Blues," Guralnick's extensive look back at the roots of R&B and soul music combines criticism, biographical profiles and social history into one rich, printed tapestry. Meticulously researched, the book shows its author's deep love of the music without sacrificing objectivity.Guralnick provides plenty of background on the "race music" that spawned R&B and the great soul music of the sixties and early seventies, on which much of the book concentrates. Like most, if not all, of the great blues musicians, the early pioneers of soul came from humble, mostly southern beginnings, and made little or no money from their work, which was liberally sampled by white musicians. A good portion of the narrative revolves around the fascinating rise and fall of Stax Records, the tiny Memphis-based label that brought together white executive leadership and musicians with raw black talent from the South. Despite initially primitive recording conditions, Stax developed into a powerhouse that was home to some of the greatest musicians in soul music, from Otis Redding to William Bell to Carla Thomas to Sam and Dave to Johnny Taylor. The label became representative of the growing sense of black pride that defined the era, one in which civil rights, of course, moved to the forefront of America's consciousness. All of these musicians and many more, including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, to name a few, are given finely drawn profiles by Guralnick, and he treats their contributions to American music with the respect that they deserve. Throughout, he is intent on letting the artists tell their stories in their own words, and remains content to use his own fine writing to direct and bind together the narrative. Another great accomplishment of the book, for me, was Guralnick's successful effort to illuminate the ties between white and black musicians during this period. Yes, many of the most successful producers, notably Atlantic's Jerry Wexler, were white, but so were many of the musicians. Most had grown up in the south around blacks and were intimately familiar with African-American music. The Stax house band, which included Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, was white, and they performed on many songs penned by great black songwriters such as David Porter and Isaac Hayes. Think of the great, ominous organ introduction to Aretha Franklin's "I Ain't Never Loved a Man." The white player is Spooner Oldham. This musical cross-fertilization is a notable point, one not often brought into considerations of the era. As a young kid coming up in the mid-60s, I loved the music that Guralnick writes about here, and I could tell -- even if he hadn't said so -- that he did too. He goes beyond that love to really dig into its roots and understand it, and succeeds admirably.
Rating:
Summary: Labor of Love
Review: Like Robert Palmer's superb "Deep Blues," Guralnick's extensive look back at the roots of R&B and soul music combines criticism, biographical profiles and social history into one rich, printed tapestry. Meticulously researched, the book shows its author's deep love of the music without sacrificing objectivity. Guralnick provides plenty of background on the "race music" that spawned R&B and the great soul music of the sixties and early seventies, on which much of the book concentrates. Like most, if not all, of the great blues musicians, the early pioneers of soul came from humble, mostly southern beginnings, and made little or no money from their work, which was liberally sampled by white musicians. A good portion of the narrative revolves around the fascinating rise and fall of Stax Records, the tiny Memphis-based label that brought together white executive leadership and musicians with raw black talent from the South. Despite initially primitive recording conditions, Stax developed into a powerhouse that was home to some of the greatest musicians in soul music, from Otis Redding to William Bell to Carla Thomas to Sam and Dave to Johnny Taylor. The label became representative of the growing sense of black pride that defined the era, one in which civil rights, of course, moved to the forefront of America's consciousness. All of these musicians and many more, including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, to name a few, are given finely drawn profiles by Guralnick, and he treats their contributions to American music with the respect that they deserve. Throughout, he is intent on letting the artists tell their stories in their own words, and remains content to use his own fine writing to direct and bind together the narrative. Another great accomplishment of the book, for me, was Guralnick's successful effort to illuminate the ties between white and black musicians during this period. Yes, many of the most successful producers, notably Atlantic's Jerry Wexler, were white, but so were many of the musicians. Most had grown up in the south around blacks and were intimately familiar with African-American music. The Stax house band, which included Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, was white, and they performed on many songs penned by great black songwriters such as David Porter and Isaac Hayes. Think of the great, ominous organ introduction to Aretha Franklin's "I Ain't Never Loved a Man." The white player is Spooner Oldham. This musical cross-fertilization is a notable point, one not often brought into considerations of the era. As a young kid coming up in the mid-60s, I loved the music that Guralnick writes about here, and I could tell -- even if he hadn't said so -- that he did too. He goes beyond that love to really dig into its roots and understand it, and succeeds admirably.
Rating:
Summary: Almost as good as hearing Otis sing.
Review: Peter Guralnick in his book "Sweet Soul Music" takes the reader through a tour of Southern Soul and R & B when this music was the real voice of a large portion 'young America'. He differentiates 'real' Soul Music from Motown and gives excellent personal recollections of the Stax-Volt and Muscle Shoals sound. The personal interviews with people like Solomon Burke, the Stax-Volt rythm section and the backup musicians and behind the scenes people make this a must for any serious Soul Music fan
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT JUSTICE FOR SOUL MUSIC!
Review: THis is The Kind Of Book For Lovers OF Real SOul&it's Early History&Impact.So Many Great Artists.this Book Is Music To The Eyes&Heart.Very Well Detailed.SO Many Styles Covered&Told.It Covers a Wide Base Of Issues.A Must.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT JUSTICE FOR SOUL MUSIC!
Review: THis is The Kind Of Book For Lovers OF Real SOul&it's Early History&Impact.So Many Great Artists.this Book Is Music To The Eyes&Heart.Very Well Detailed.SO Many Styles Covered&Told.It Covers a Wide Base Of Issues.A Must.
Rating:
Summary: A thorough look at the creation of southern soul
Review: When I read this book, I could not put it down. It was truly an engrossing read. From the early beginnings of southern R&B through Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T. & The MG's and others, Guralnick doesn't miss a thing. Covers all the bases about a style of music that faded all too soon. A must read for anyone interested in soul music.
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