| City in the Sky | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1974 | |||
| Studio | Ardent Studios | |||
| Genre | Soul, pop | |||
| Label | Stax Records | |||
| Producer | Al Bell | |||
| Staple Singers chronology | ||||
| ||||
City in the Sky is an album by American music group the Staple Singers, released in 1974. [1] [2] It was the group's final album for Stax Records. [3] [4] The 1990s reissue appended bonus tracks from the group's set at Wattstax. [5]
The album peaked at No. 125 on the Billboard 200. [6]
City in the Sky was recorded at Ardent Studios in October 1972, during sessions that were originally undertaken in order to construct a double album. [7] It was produced by Al Bell.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Robert Christgau | B+ [9] |
| The Commercial Appeal | [5] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
Robert Christgau called City in the Sky the group's "toughest and best Stax LP," writing that "though their social vision may be vague, at least they were political before it was commercial, which gives them an edge." [9]
Reviewing a reissue, The Commercial Appeal wrote that "it's one classic interpretation after another with brilliant socio-political numbers like 'Back Road Into Town', 'Washington We're Watching You' and 'Something Ain't Right'." [5] Record Collector deemed it "a solid soul album without making too many claims to be essential." [3]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Back Road into Town" | 4:19 |
| 2. | "City in the Sky" | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Washington We're Watching You" | 3:54 |
| 4. | "Something Ain't Right" | 3:48 |
| 5. | "Today Was Tomorrow Yesterday" | 4:16 |
| 6. | "My Main Man" | 2:12 |
| 7. | "There Is a God" | 3:01 |
| 8. | "Blood Pressure" | 3:31 |
| 9. | "If It Ain't One Thing It's Another" | 4:22 |
| 10. | "Who Made the Man" | 4:13 |
| 11. | "Getting Too Big for Your Britches" | 4:42 |
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, where U.S. record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. It also had a resurgence with artists like Erykah Badu under the genre neo-soul.
Funkadelic is the debut album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in 1970 on Westbound Records.
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Radio City is the second studio album by the American rock group Big Star. Released in 1974, Radio City was recorded during 1973 at Memphis' Ardent Studios. Though not a commercial success at the time, it is now recognized as a milestone album in the history of power pop music. Critically acclaimed upon its release, the record sold poorly, partly due to a lack of promotion and the distribution problems of the band's struggling record label, Ardent Records. The album included "September Gurls" and "Back of a Car", which remain among the most famous Big Star songs; both the Searchers and the Bangles have covered "September Gurls".
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