In the latest episode of Great Performances, entitled "Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story," the show makes an attempt to recount the history of Stax Records, one of the most influential, and different, record labels of the last century. There are a number of different threads that the episode attempts to follow, some with more success than others.
The story of the music itself is well told, what Stax was putting out there, who the artists were, and the response in the country. Less well told is the racial aspect of the company and its recordings. Stax was founded by two white people, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton (brother and sister), but ended up with mainly African-American recording artists putting out a "black sound" that tended to find cross-over success. While this was not their intent, they were people to whom race did not matter. And, finally, very poorly told is the story of the internal politics of the record company. These last two threads are, I suspect, often the same, but the documentary never actually ties them together (one of its weaknesses), so I leave them separate here as well.
Most people in this country know Stax music, even if they do not identify it with the label. Otis Redding was a Stax artist, and "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" a Stax song. He wrote and recorded "Respect." Isaac Hayes was a Stax artist and "Theme from Shaft" a Stax recording. It is a record label that lasted from the late 1950s to 1975, and put out hit after hit after hit, defining the "Memphis sound." The story of the records, songs, and artist of the label, is the strongest part of the documentary. It is truly a wonder that such a small label was able to do so much. This thread of the documentary is well told and enlightens people that may not otherwise realize where all this music came from. It also provides a background as to the thoughts, feelings, and motives that went into the songs themselves.
Article comments
1 - Josh Lasser
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States.
2 - Rodney Welch
Great documentary that tells of the rise, fall, and rebirth of a great American institution with wit, intelligence, and gusto -- although apparently not enough for Mr. Lasser. There do seem to have been moments when the people involved couldn't quite tell the whole story, vut I think Lasser dozed off during the whole Union Planters discussion, when it was pointed out that the bank LOVED the fact that Stax payed loans back so quickly and that it was then that the bank advanced money so quickly.
It's very difficult to tell a complicated story involving money and back taxes, and it may be that the most this film could do is cover the surface. But it's not as if the film is at all unentertaining or uninteresting.
Here is a strange sentence: "Though there is a narrator, and a great one, Samuel L. Jackson, the documentary chooses first-hand accounts over Jackson on numerous occasions."
Say what? A good documentary always lets the people involved tell the story, as this one did. The more narration -- even if it is the silver-tongued Jackson -- the weaker the project.
3 - Josh Lasser
Wait a minute, of course first-hand accounts are good, but when 3 different accounts are presented (as in with the leaving of Estelle Axton) it is essential that the documentary do something to clear up the confusion. A hard and fast answer does not need to be presented, but the documentary should absolutely make it clear who the people talking are, and what their POV is, and this show didn't do that.
4 - Rodney Welch
You're making the Andes Mountain Range out of a molehill. You're taking a lively and interesting documentary and scrutinizing certain moments with a fine-toothed comb in an effort to make yourself look like Mr. Meticulous, and in the process you're missing the big picture.
At any rate, the picture you saw isn't the one I saw. You and I had a completely different experience. I love the music of Stax and this opened a big wide window into it.
I sat there for two hours lost in the groove while you ran around with your hands on your head screaming "Josh not understand! Josh not understand!"
5 - Josh Lasser
I believe, if you read the article, you'll note that I said that the story of the music was good, but that this other stuff was weak.