DVD: Various Artists
Soul Comes Home (Shout!)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This DVD feature documents the concert held to celebrate the opening of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, but the performers involved aren't ready to be put under glass yet. Many of the stars that made Stax/Volt the premier soul music label in America were on hand, and while some have traveled a long road since their glory days in the sixties and seventies, every performance is a treat. Pioneers like William Bell, Eddie Floyd and Percy Sledge were on hand, and where the stars that made the hits weren't available, their substitutions did them proud. Sure, Wilson Pickett is always missed when he's not onstage, but who can deny the appeal of Solomon Burke knocking out "Mustang Sally" with the song's author, Mack Rice. Burke also offers a tribute to Otis Redding, with "Try A Little Tenderness," and while Michael McDonald might not have been the first name that would come to my mind, he, too, does Otis proud with a version of "Dock Of The Bay." Of course, it doesn't hurt that Steve Cropper is onstage turning out his signature licks on the tune.

Cropper is onstage with the surviving MGs, too, and the Bar-Kays, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes and Mavis Staples all appear. Most of them are included in the special features package included on the DVD, as well. Through interviews and archival footage, we get a closer look at Otis, the Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the MGs and the Bar-Kays, as well as a glimpse inside the Stax Museum.

It was a celebration of greatness, and you'll have a great celebration of soul every time you replay this DVD.

© 2004 - Shaun Dale