Reviewed by Tony Cummings

The '70s soul cognoscenti now consider this one of the classic albums of the era and I wouldn't argue so its availability on a nicely remastered CD reissue is truly welcome. Amazingly, 'Be Altitude: Respect Yourself' represents the SECOND time the renowned family group underwent a complete career change in terms of musical style and audience. In the '50s the Staples had been the quintessence of downhome rural gospel pulled along by Pops' cascading blues guitar and Mavis' growling, testifying leads which connected with black church goers nostalgic for the old time faith of simpler times. In the '60s the Singers had added hootenanny folk and more old time spirituals to their sound to become musical museum pieces for the Newport folk fest crowd. Now in the '70s they had signed with one of the greatest R&B companies of any era, Memphis' Stax Records and by taking the inspired decision to travel to Muscle Shoals to work with their impossibly funky studio band, were able to connect with both black and white audiences who had developed a taste for stone-to-the-bone soul music. This, their fourth album for Stax, has two monumental classics - both huge R&B and pop hit singles. The first, "Respect Yourself", written by Mack Rice and Luther Ingram, is as sinuous a slice of singalong funk as you'll ever shake a hip to while the lyric - though it identifies the need to respect "the preacher with the Bible in his hand" - isn't directly a gospel song, rather a plea for justice, love and respect, themes which were to become the mainstay of the group's lyrics during their Stax years. 'Be Altitude''s second timeless gem is "I'll Take You There" - credited to Alvertis Isbell, better know as the album's producer and Stax exec Al Bell. In truth, the song consists of little more than a captivating bass guitar riff from a Muscle Shoals sessioner - who'd recently become enamoured by reggae - probably lifted from an old Hurry J & The All Stars hit linked to a lead vocal fromand Mavis using all her decades-long experience in improvising growls, screams and "he'p me"'s to make one of the most delicious sounds ever to entrance a dance floor. With two such monumental cuts there was still room for other tracks on 'Be Altitude' to register. The Memphis Sound with its chattering wah-wah guitars, swirling Hammond and memorable interjections from the Memphis Horns all add their magic to Mavis, Cleotha, Yvonne and Pops' soulfully satisfying vocal blend on "Name The Missing Word" while "Who Do You Think You Are (Jesus Christ The Superstar)" is a clever song - penned by Pops - about the smug self-satisfaction that permeates our society ("Are you sure there is nothing you can do/To help someone worse off than you?"). All in all, a classic album that every soul music buff should have.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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