Like the 1993 CD compilation
Private Numbers, this disc is divided between tracks cut (separately, not together) for the
Stax label by
Veda Brown and
Judy Clay. This British 2008 release is notably different from the 1993 anthology, including 16 cuts by
Brown (where the previous CD had just eight), and nine by
Clay that are a little different from the ten found on
Private Numbers. First, the ten on
Private Numbers included four duets with
William Bell and a song from the
Uptight soundtrack (
"Children, Don't Get Weary") that are not on
The Stax Solo Recordings. Similarly,
The Stax Solo Recordings has four tracks (three of them previously unissued) not on
Private Numbers. And neither of these anthologies has a 1967
Clay single that came out on
Stax but was unavailable for licensing. It takes a good deal of scanning the fine print in the liner notes to get the story straight, the upshot being that you need both of these discs if you're to hear as much
Clay/
Stax material on CD as possible, and that taken together, they still don't cover the entirety of her slim
Stax output. Getting past the discographical details to the music, it's fairly strong secondary
Stax stuff with a rich, stirring vocal delivery that's certainly superior to the
Veda Brown material on the same CD, though not up there with the best of what
Stax was cutting at the time. It should also be noted that
Clay did a lot of recording (on her own and with duet partners
Billy Vera and
William Bell) aside from her solo sides for
Stax, which represented a relatively small slice of her career as a whole. Still, in combination with the 16
Stax solo tracks by
Brown (some also previously unreleased) that are also included, the CD makes a good addition to the collection of
Stax specialists, with as comprehensive liner notes as are ever likely to be written about the output of these two singers for the label. ~ Richie Unterberger