Volume 1
- Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes) - Carla Thomas 2:21
- Last Night - The Mar-Keys 2:40
- Green Onions - Booker T. And The MGs 2:54
- Walking The Dog - Rufus Thomas 2:34
- Respect - Otis Redding 2:08
- Hold On I'm Coming - Sam And Dave 2:29
- B-A-B-Y - Carla Thomas 2:55
- Knock On Wood - Eddie Floyd 3:03
- Soul Finger - The Bar-Kays 2:20
- Tramp - Otis Redding And Carla Thomas 3:01
- Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King 2:48
- Soul Man - Sam And Dave 2:39
- The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding 2:41
- Private Number - William Bell And Judy Clay 2:40
- Who's Making Love - Johnnie Taylor 2:49
- Time Is Tight - Booker T. And The MGs 3:17
- Do The Funky Chicken - Rufus Thomas 3:17
- Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight 2:34
- Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics 3:35
- Respect Yourself - The Staple Singers 3:32
- Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes 3:18
- I've Been Lonely (For So Long) - Frederick Knight 3:22
- I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers 3:14
- Starting All Over Again - Mel & Tim 3:30
- I'll Be The Other Woman - Soul Children 3:35
- Woman To Woman - Shirley Brown 3:54
Volume 2
- 'Cause I Love You - Rufus & Carla 2:46
- You Don't Miss Your Water - William Bell 3:01
- These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding 2:32
- Can Your Monkey Do The Dog - Rufus Thomas 2:28
- Big Party - Barbara and The Browns 2:41
- Jump Back - Rufus Thomas 2:21
- Mr. Pitiful - Otis Redding 2:43
- Can't See You When I Want To - David Porter 2:55
- Boot-Leg - Booker T. & The MGs 2:07
- I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) - Otis Redding 2:55
- Candy - The Astors 3:02
- I Want Someone - The Mad Lads 2:43
- Philly Dog - The Mar-Keys 2:16
- (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Otis Redding 2:46
- Things Get Better - Eddie Floyd 2:26
- Let Me Be Good To You - Carla Thomas 2:42
- I'll Run Your Hurt Away - Ruby Johnson 3:10
- Your Good Thing (Is About To End) - Mable John 2:59
- Patch My Heart - The Mad Lads 2:32
- Crosscut Saw - Albert King 2:35
- I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down - Sam and Dave 2:43
- Groovin' - Booker T. & The MGs 2:43
- Give Everybody Some - The Bar-Kays 2:25
- Cold Feet - Albert King 2:47
- I Thank You - Sam & Dave 2:46
- I Got A Sure Thing - Ollie and the Nightingales 2:38
- Big Bird - Eddie Floyd 3:03
- A Tribute To A King - William Bell 2:54
- I Ain't Particular - Johnnie Taylor 2:27
Volume 3
- Soul Limbo - Booker T. & The MGs 2:23
- I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do) - Eddie Floyd 2:45
- What A Man - Linda Lyndell 2:40
- I Like Everything About You - Jimmy Hughes 2:50
- I Forgot To Be Your Lover - William Bell 2:21
- I Like What You're Doing (To Me) - Carla Thomas 2:55
- So I Can Love You - The Emotions 2:51
- Walk On By - Issac Hayes 4:34
- Black Boy - Roebuck 'Pops' Staples 3:23
- I Have Learned To Do Without You - Mavis Staples 4:07
- Play The Music Toronadoes - The T.S.U Toronados 2:33
- Never Can Say Goodbye - Isaac Hayes 3:37
- The Breakdown (Part 1) - Rufus Thomas 3:14
- Son Of Shaft - The Bar-Kays 3:11
- That's What Love Will Make You Do - Little Milton 3:55
- In The Rain - The Dramatics 3:24
- Hearsay - Soul Children 3:30
- Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One) - Isaac Hayes & David Porter 4:24
- Dedicated To The One I Love - The Temprees 3:34
- Breaking Up Somebody's Home - Albert King 3:40
- I Believe In You (You Believe In Me) - Johnnie Taylor 4:31
- Short Stopping - Veda Brown 2:22
- Cheaper To Keep Her - Johnnie Taylor 3:27
- If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) - The Staple Singers 3:20
Volume 4
- Green Onions - Booker T. & The MG's 4:15
- Raise Your Hand - Eddie Floyd 3:46
- Something Good (Is Going To Happen To You) - Carla Thomas 4:15
- Grab This Thing (Part 1) - The Mar-Keys 2:31
- The Dog - Rufus Thomas 2:56
- You Don't Miss Your Water - William Bell 3:48
- Soothe Me - Sam & Dave 2:57
- You Don't Know Like I Know - Sam & Dave 3:46
- Shake - Otis Redding 2:32
- Try A Little Tenderness - Otis Redding 6:52
- Oh La De Da - The Staple Singers 3:34
- (Do The) Push And Pull (Part 1) - Rufus Thomas 5:17
- Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Johnnie Taylor 5:46
- Killing Floor - Albert King 3:49
- Blues Power - Albert King 3:11
- Show Me How - The Emotions 3:49
- Hang 'Em High - Booker T. & The MG's 3:54
- Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes 4:47
- Theme From The Men - Isaac Hayes 3:47
Notes
The legendary Memphis soul label Stax's legacy is well-represented by this four-CD box set, which manages to do what many similar box retrospectives don't. That is to provide a well-balanced overview of a genre of music that mixes the essential hits with many noteworthy yet lesser-known singles and rarities, coming about as close as possible to pleasing both the collector and the less intense soul fan. The first disc alone, subtitled "The Hits," takes care of most of the consensus classics most listeners would demand from such a box, including hits by Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the MGs, Rufus Thomas, Albert King, and Johnnie Taylor. Disc two and disc three chronologically survey lower-profile chart hits and flops, taking in additional material by all of the stars, as well as great songs that have escaped the net of oldies radio: William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water," Albert King's "Crosscut Saw," Mable John's "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)." Disc four is entirely devoted to live recordings, most by the company's biggest acts, that sometimes give a rawer sense of the performers' charisma than was evident on their studio efforts. Some pretty minor reservations might keep this box from getting awarded the highest possible score: some of the non-hit cuts aren't that exciting (particularly from the label's later years), the track annotation doesn't make it clear whether some of the live cuts were previously unreleased in any form, Booker T. & the MGs' "Hang 'Em High" is represented by a live 1993 reunion recording rather than the original hit single, and some good mid-level hits by the biggest Stax acts aren't here. Still, it's a very worthy summation of the label's highlights, augmented by detailed liner notes.