Title - 'Freedom Highway Complete'
Artist - The Staple Singers
Freedom Highway Complete: Recorded Live At Chicago's New Nazareth Church is a newly remixed, remastered and expanded edition of the live concert masterpiece recorded by the Staple Singers in April 1965 in support and celebration of that year's historic civil rights marches from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama.
For those not in the know, The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples (1914–2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha (1934–2013), Pervis (b. 1935), Yvonne (b. 1936), and Mavis (b. 1939). They are best known for their 1970s hits "Respect Yourself", "I'll Take You There", "If You're Ready (Come Go with Me)", and "Let's Do It Again", all of which (except "I'll Take You There") peaked on the Hot 100 within a week from Christmas Day.
Featuring previously unreleased performances, the spiritually uplifting service, "Pops" Staples' Intro and Outro and more, Freedom Highway Complete: Recorded Live At Chicago's New Nazareth Church puts the listener right in the church, with the Staples, the choir, the band, and the congregation for a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Indeed, it is so real, so raw, such an honest flashback to a time less hectic that there is also now included a near seven minute interlude in the middle where an offering hat is passed around. It seems only $64 is collected on that special day, and so the Reverend gently heckles his congregation for being such "skinflints"! Oh, and "Pops" does a sales pitch for buying their records towards the close also!
First released on Epic Records as an LP in 1965, the original Freedom Highway album, constrained by the time limits of 12" vinyl, edited the New Nazareth Missionary Baptist Church concert and service down to key performance tracks. The new Legacy edition marks the first-ever release of the full concert and service.
www.LegacyRecordings.com