Staple Swingers
The first Staples disc to be recorded with Stax producer Al Bell and the first made with sister Yvonne as Tyrone's replacement, 1971'sThe Staple Swingersis best known for producing the hit single "Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)." But it's one of the group's finest overall moments--there's nary a clunker on this outing. Recorded at Muscle Shoals with horn arrangements and playing by the Bar-Kays, this disc is the flowering of the Staple Singers' mid-tempo, gospel-flavored '70s funk-pop. "This Is a Perfect World," an uplifting antiviolence anthem, melds Sly Stone-style acid-funk to the Staples's pure vocals. Check out "What's Your Thing": that snaking Delta slide by Pops is still in the mix, but there's a whole lot more--bluesy organ lines, bad-ass bass, heavy guitar, the works.The Staple Swingersis the group's bluesiest, grittiest release, and charts the move from the soul-folk style of the '60s into the primo funk-pop of their Stax heyday.--Mike McGonigal