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- Date Released: October 24, 2000
- Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
- Style: Oldies, Soul, Soul/R&B
- Label: Fantasy / Stax
Gospel, soul, R&B, disco and more: Johnnie Taylor’s many faces collected.
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We Say...
Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits documents the heart of Johnnie Taylor’s career, his 1968-75 Stax tenure, but the three-disk Lifetime: A Retrospective of Soul, Blues and Gospel 1956-1999 tells the whole story, perhaps more fully than anyone but a hardcore fan can appreciate. It opens with the ethereal, essentially a capella Taylor composition “I Dreamed That Heaven Was Like This” by the QC’s and includes five tracks with the Soul Stirrers before delving into the SAR catalog, most notably with the Cooke-like “Rome (Wasn’t Built in a Day).” When he begins with Stax, Taylor is more of a modern bluesman (he’d actually sustained his career for a while by masquerading as Little Johnny Taylor when that singer was hot with “Part Time Love”). The style suited him; the 1968 Raw Blues, on which Booker T. and the M.G.’s give him their usual precise and powerful backing, is one of the great lost Stax albums, even though it produced no hit singles. By then, though, Taylor had already broken through with “Who’s Making Love,” with three guitars, tambourine and background singers lending the red-clay soul of Stax an uptown Motowny sheen. The first of his three Number One singles for Stax, it gave him a winning hybrid sound he retained until he concluded his Memphis stay with the ladies-man ballads typified by Taylored in Silk.
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They Say...
Taylor gets honored with a three-CD box set for this career retrospective. And it truly is a career retrospective: it spans 1956-1999 and includes a good deal of material that he did for other labels before and after his lengthy Stax stint. It's true that you have to be a pretty deep Taylor fan to commit to nearly four hours of his music. It's also true that even if you are a big Taylor fan, you're likely to need some patience to last through some of the average cuts, or his stylistic transition from gospel to soul to disco and retro-soul. Overall, however, it's a fine commemoration of an important if not quite great soul star. The most valuable components of the set are found on disc one, which kicks off with a half-dozen gospel tunes from his stints with the Highway Q.C.'s and the Soul Stirrers in the late '50s, moving into some of his soul sides for Sam Cooke's SAR label in the early '60s. For the remainder of disc one and some of disc two, there are plenty of fine soul-blues cuts from his early days at Stax in the mid-to-late '60s that will be familiar to relatively few listeners, his fine soul-blues-gospel vocal blend resulting in some of his finest work. As time wore on -- even starting in the early '70s -- Taylor's material got duller and more homogenized, though there were always some highlights to perk up your ears. Unsurprisingly, then, like most box sets, this gets less interesting the closer it draws to the finish line, although wisely his late-'70s Columbia era (yes, "Disco Lady" is here) and post-'70s Malaco output is represented by a mere four cuts each. Ultimately, it's a well-done summation of Taylor's legacy, with an accompanying 50-page booklet including essay, discography, and photos.
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| 01. |  |
I Dreamed That Heaven Was Like This - The Highway Q.C.'s |
2:43 |
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| 02. | |
Heaven Is My Home - The Soul Stirrers |
2:29 |
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| 03. | |
The Love Of God - The Soul Stirrers |
2:13 |
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| 04. | |
Out On A Hill - The Soul Stirrers |
2:43 |
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| 05. | |
Until Then - The Soul Stirrers |
2:21 |
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| 06. | |
When The Gates Swing Open - The Soul Stirrers |
2:58 |
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| 07. | |
Never, Never |
2:40 |
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| 08. | |
Rome (Wasn't Built In A Day) |
2:36 |
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| 09. | |
Dance What You Wanna |
2:32 |
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| 10. | |
Baby, We've Got Love |
2:09 |
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| 11. | |
I Had A Dream |
3:02 |
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| 12. | |
Easy Lovin' |
3:01 |
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| 14. | |
Just The One (I've Been Looking For) |
2:50 |
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| 15. | |
Part Time Love |
3:39 |
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| 16. | |
Sixteen Tons |
7:04 |
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| 17. | |
Somebody's Sleeping In My Bed |
2:48 |
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| 18. | |
Blues In The Night |
3:03 |
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| 19. | |
Save Your Life For Me |
2:22 |
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| 20. | |
I Need Lots Of Love |
4:47 |
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| 21. | |
You Can't Win With A Losing Hand |
2:33 |
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| 22. | |
Rumors |
2:51 |
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| 23. | |
You Don't Know Like I Know |
2:42 |
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| 24. | |
Twenty Years From Today |
2:43 |
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| 25. | |
Twenty Years From Today |
2:38 |
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24 Total Tracks, 71:27 Total Length
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 64 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 64 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. | |
Little Bluebird |
3:14 |
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| 02. | |
Toe Hold |
3:12 |
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| 03. | |
That's Where It's At |
3:34 |
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| 04. | |
I Ain't Particular |
2:49 |
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| 05. | |
Woman Across The River |
3:15 |
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| 06. | |
Who's Making Love |
2:48 |
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| 07. | |
I'm Not The Same Person |
3:06 |
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| 08. | |
I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water |
2:59 |
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| 09. | |
Mr. Nobody Is Somebody Now |
3:23 |
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| 10. | |
Take Care Of Your Homework |
2:40 |
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| 11. | |
Testify (I Wonna) |
4:06 |
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| 12. | |
Seperation Line |
3:43 |
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| 13. | |
I Could Never Be President |
2:19 |
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| 14. | |
Love Bones |
4:07 |
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| 15. | |
Steal Away |
3:30 |
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| 16. | |
Steal Away (Live) |
6:17 |
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| 17. | |
I Am Somebody |
5:50 |
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| 18. | |
Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone |
3:03 |
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| 19. | |
I Don't Wanna Lose You |
5:26 |
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| 20. | |
Don't Take My Sunshine |
3:21 |
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| 21. | |
Hijackin' Love |
3:18 |
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21 Total Tracks, 76:00 Total Length
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 64 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 64 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. | |
Standing In For Judy |
4:02 |
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| 02. | |
Doing My Own Thing |
3:46 |
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| 03. | |
Stop Doggin' Me |
4:15 |
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| 04. | |
I Believe In You (You Believe In Me) |
5:09 |
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| 05. | |
Cheaper To Keep Her |
3:31 |
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| 06. | |
We're Getting Careless With Our Love |
4:03 |
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| 07. | |
Starting All Over Again |
4:16 |
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| 08. | |
I've Been Born Again |
3:22 |
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| 09. | |
It's September |
3:37 |
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| 10. | |
Try Me Tonight |
3:22 |
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| 11. | |
Free |
3:55 |
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| 12. | |
Disco Lady |
4:30 |
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| 13. | |
Running Out Of Lies |
4:55 |
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| 14. | |
God Is Standing By |
4:28 |
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| 15. | |
Play Something Pretty |
4:07 |
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| 16. | |
Lady, My Whole World Is You |
3:23 |
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| 17. | |
Lover Boy |
3:57 |
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| 18. | |
Last Two Dollars |
5:18 |
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| 19. | |
Soul Heaven |
4:52 |
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19 Total Tracks, 78:48 Total Length
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Credits
- Sam Cooke - Original Session Producer // Sam Cooke - Original Session Producer // Steve Cropper - Guitar // Steve Cropper - Original Session Producer // Frederick Knight - Keyboards // Frederick Knight - Programming // Frederick Knight - Vocals (Background) // Johnnie Taylor - Guitar // Johnnie Taylor - Main Performer // Johnnie Taylor - Original Session Producer // Bernie Worrell - Keyboards // Leonard Williams - Vocals (Background) // Lee Richardson - Vocals // Thomisene Anderson - Vocals (Background) // Gary Armstrong - Horn // Joe Arnold - Saxophone // Jack Ashford - Tambourine // Barry Beckett - Keyboards // Sonny Bono - Original Session Producer // Harrison Calloway - Horn // Calvin Carter - Original Session Producer // Richard Cason - Original Session Producer // Ben Cauley - Horn // Roger Clark - Percussion // Roger Clark - Drums // Tommy Couch - Original Session Producer // Leroy Crume - Guitar // Leroy Crume - Vocals // Don Davis - Guitar // Don Davis - Original Session Producer // Mickey Davis - Strings // Janet Dressler - Strings // Donald "Duck" Dunn - Bass // Ronnie Eades - Horn // Paul Foster - Vocals // Richard Gibbs - Vocals // Ray Griffin - Bass // Isaac Hayes - Organ // Isaac Hayes - Piano // Leroy Hadley - Guitar // Rene Hall - Arranger // Rene Hall - Leader // Claudette Hampton - Strings // Roger Hawkins - Drums // Catherine Henderson - Vocals (Background) // Lee Hildebrand - Liner Notes // Lee Hildebrand - Compilation Producer // Eddie Hinton - Guitar // David Hood - Bass // Jim Horn - Horn // Clayton Ivey - Keyboards // Wayne Jackson - Trumpet // Jimmy Johnson - Guitar // Andrew Love - Saxophone // Bobby Manuel - Guitar // Will McFarlane - Guitar // Tim Mika - Strings // Earl Palmer - Drums // Peggy Plucker - Strings // Bob Ray - Bass // James Robertson - Drums // R.B. Robinson - Vocals // Rudy Robinson - Keyboards // Charles Rose - Horn // Brad Shapiro - Original Session Producer // Wolf Stephenson - Original Session Producer // Spencer Taylor - Vocals // Tommy Tedesco - Guitar // Marvell Thomas - Keyboards // Harvey Thompson - Horn // Carson Whitsett - Keyboards // Dino Zimmerman - Guitar // Al Jackson, Jr. - Drums // Al Jackson, Jr. - Original Session Producer // Bob McNally - Strings // Stax Staff - Original Session Producer // Bobby Jackson - Guitar // John Anderson - Trumpet // Jamie Putnam - Art Direction // Jamie Putnam - Slipcover Concept // Vickie Lancaster - Percussion // Vinnie Ciesielski - Horn // Bennett Randman - Strings // Linda Geidel - Strings // John Frantz - Strings // Raymond Jackson - Guitar // Brian Gum - Strings // William "Bootsy" Collins - Bass // Linda Kalin - Booklet Design // Quanda Brooks - Vocals // Sybil Cheesman - Flute // Dennis Soule - Horn // Johnny Soul - Percussion // Johnny Soul - Drums // Angela Walls - Vocals (Background) // Terri Hinte - Production Coordination // Rikka Arnold - Production Coordination // Charles Richardson - Vocals // LaTonya Youngblood - Vocals (Background) // Arthur Franklin - Bass // Sonya Washington - Vocals (Background) // John Ewing - Trombone // Booker T. Jones III - Organ // Booker T. Jones III - Piano // Jesse J. Farley - Vocals // Edgar Redmond - Saxophone // Arthur Armstrong - Guitar
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