‘Wattstax’ Boxed Set Track By The Emotions Gets Eye-Catching New Video
The set is one of the series of titles from Stax Records and Craft Recordings in celebration of the famous Wattstax Benefit Concert.
An eye-catching new animated video by Jeb Hardwick has been created and shared for the Emotions’ live track “Blind Alley,” which is part of the lavish 12-CD boxed set Soul’d Out: The Complete Wattstax Collection, now on release.
That set is one of the series of titles issued by Stax Records and Craft Recordings in February, in celebration of the famous Wattstax Benefit Concert, held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 20th, 1972. The Complete Collection features the entire, all-star concert as well as recordings from the Summit Club, including the Emotions’ track. A total of 31 previously unreleased tracks are on offer as part of the collection.
The origins of Chicago-bred sister group the Emotions go back as far as 1962, and after a raising on the gospel circuit, they moved into R&B, eventually signing with Stax in the late 1960s. Their first LP on the company’s Volt label, So I Can Love You, was a minor soul chart entry in 1969, while the title track became a Top 3 US R&B hit and edged into the pop Top 40.
The Emotions placed a total of 13 Volt singles on the R&B chart, of which “Blind Alley,” written by Stax stalwart David Porter, was the B-side of the 1972 Top 20 entry “My Honey and Me.” “Blind Alley” was also on the group’s second album Untouched and has been sampled by such artists as Mariah Carey, A Tribe Called Quest, Bell Biv Devoe, Ice Cube, and Big Daddy Kane. The Emotions went on to sustained success after signing to Columbia, including the signature 1977 soul and pop No.1 “Best Of My Love.”
Also on release is Wattstax: The Complete Concert, featuring the full Coliseum show with such stars as Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Albert King, and William Bell. That’s available in 6-CD and 10-LP formats. The single CD The Best of Wattstax features a handpicked selection of 20 of the best performances from the show. The release series is completed by newly-cut 2-LP editions, from the original analog tapes, reissues of the original soundtrack albums Wattstax: The Living Word and The Living Word: Wattstax 2, containing highlights from the concert and the subsequent documentary film.
