Wattstax was an event, a concert, a movie and a marketing scheme; the new three-disc Wattstax documents all of the above. The concert in Los Angeles in 1972 was envisioned as a Black Woodstock with music by Stax artists, and a series of club concerts in the area. These shows were largely altruistic, but they were also designed to draw attention to Stax opening a West Coast office and to showcase Stax’s talent.

 

By 1972, Stax’ musical roster was in transition, and there were no Otis Reddings and no Booker T and the MGs. The album includes Rufus Thomas and part of a club show with Carla Thomas, but Isaac Hayes had become the label’s signature artist by that point. Unfortunately, he is only on the album for “Theme from Shaft.” After him, the Staple Singers are the biggest names, and a lot of second and third tier Stax talent rounds out the set. Fortunately, all acquit themselves well, aided by a band with a funky foot in Memphis and one in the psychedelic city. The sound is dated, but it’s charmingly, energetically so.

 

As much as a three-disc set seems like it ought to be an entertainment event itself, Wattstax really is a document of a moment. But it’s a cool document. The desire to speak to all African-American constituencies is manifest, so a young a well-Afro’d Jesse Jackson speaks and Richard Pryor does stand-up. Kim Weston sings, “Lift Up Every Voice and Sing,” and disc two opens with a series of gospel numbers by the Emotions, the Golden 13 and the Rance Allen Group, the latter of which are particularly hot. Taken as a whole, the Soul Power vibe may be Wattstax most defining characteristic.

 

The album also foreshadows what the label would become. When Stax co-owner Al Bell tried to build it and expand its library, the roster became less distinctive. The musical voices that defined the label were missing or lost in the glut of product, and though Wattstax is generally good as a funky soul revue, there’s nothing on it career-defining.