It has been very quiet for a long time around Stax, the legendary soul label. However, the arrival of neo soul offers them the opportunity to continue their work on the usual high quality standards. Souldiva Angie Stone was the first to be elected to revive Stax. To stay in a legendary atmosphere, she recorded The Art Of Love & War in Marvin's Room, where Mr Gaye made the world happy with his
… songs. Like Gaye, Stone also takes care of a large part of her own background vocals. The kick-off of this remarkable collaboration was given with the fantastic single Baby, a duet with Betty Wright, on which both singers go wild on a sample of Give Me Your Love by Curtis Mayfield. In addition to many ballads based on the classic Stax sound, The Art Of Love & War also a few faster, funky excesses like Play With It and My People. Let's hope this is the start of a long-term partnership. (AD)more
