Review

The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973 (Kent/ACE)

It was fifty years ago that the recording studio, record label and publishing operation originally known as Florence Alabama Music Enterprises established itself and its trademark sound with the hit title “You Better Move On” by Arthur Alexander. In the fifty years since, Fame Studios and its idiosyncratic founder Rick Hall have been at the forefront of the Muscle Shoals Sound.

“The Fame Studios Story 1961 – 1973” is an exhaustive 3 cd set derived from two years’ worth of excavations by the intrepid Ace team at the hallowed vault of Fame. The result is a full programme of Fame-related releases slated for release on Ace, Kent and BGP over the next couple of years, but the lynchpin is this definitive anthology focusing on the halcyon days of the studio and the label. It’s a celebatory overview that covers 75 tracks, spotlighting both artists and records that are either acknowledged greats, or lesser known (yet no less worthy) entries in the lexicon of soul. And the line-up is a virtual who’s who of sixties soul, including Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Lou Rawls, Irma Thomas, while deep soul fans will instantly recognise names like Maurice & Mac, Bettye Swann and Willie Hightower.

With this unprecedented access granted to its tape and photo archive, over a third of the tracks on this release are new to cd, and another twelve are previously unreleased, including rarities by Otis Redding and Arthur Alexander. And there’s loads more.
Words SHARON DAVIS