Sound Stage Seven Story : Sound Stage Seven Story

The Nashville-based Sound Stage Seven label was owned and operated by John Richbourg, better known to local radio listeners as the famously gravel-voiced WLAC personality John R. -- one of the most influential R&B DJs ever to enter the broadcast booth, his late-night program traveled far and wide thanks to WLAC's 50,000-watt signal, and he was among the very earliest radio personalities ever to play music by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, James Brown, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and countless others. Sound Stage Seven offered Richbourg a different kind of vehicle to document and promote the R&B and deep soul he loved, and although the label never achieved any significant commercial success, its output sheds fascinating new light on the Nashville soul scene of the late '60s and early '70s, a time and place that have never gotten their due thanks to the explosive soul coming out of Memphis and Muscle Shoals at that same point. Perhaps it's not surprising, given their geographic origins, that the 50 tracks making up the two-disc Sound Stage Seven Story boast a strong country music influence -- even for Southern soul, this stuff is deeply rural, with few hints of city-slicker spit and polish. Comprehensive liner notes round out the package. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide