City in the Sky

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City in the Sky
Studio album by
Staple Singers
Released1974
StudioArdent Studios
GenreSoul, pop
LabelStax Records
ProducerAl Bell
Staple Singers chronology
Be What You Are
(1973) 		City in the Sky
(1974) 		Let's Do It Again
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3/5 stars[1]
Robert ChristgauB+[2]
The Commercial Appeal4/4 stars[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars[4]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide2/5 stars[5]

City in the Sky is an album by American music group the Staple Singers, released in 1974.[6][7] It was the group's final album for Stax Records.[8][9] The 1990s reissue appended bonus tracks from the group's set at Wattstax.[3]

The album peaked at No. 125 on the Billboard 200.[10]

Production[]

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.[11] It was produced by Al Bell.

Critical reception[]

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."[2]

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'."[3] Record Collector deemed it "a solid soul album without making too many claims to be essential."[8]

Track listing[]

No.TitleLength
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

Personnel[]

  • Pop Staples - vocals, guitar
  • Cleotha Staples - vocals
  • Mavis Staples - vocals
  • Yvonne Staples - vocals

References[]

  1. ^ "City in the Sky - The Staple Singers | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Robert Christgau: CG: Staple Singers". www.robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ellis, Bill (February 1, 1997). "Recordings". The Commercial Appeal. p. C5.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 7: MUZE. p. 705.CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. ^ (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. pp. 775–776.
  6. ^ "Famed Staples Singers loses family member". The Triangle Tribune (7). 3 Mar 2013. p. 6B.
  7. ^ McNeil, W.K. (2013). Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music. Routledge. p. 375.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection - Record Collector Magazine".
  9. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (February 21, 2020). "The Staple Singers' 'Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection' Brings the Gospel-Soul Band's Peak Years into Focus". Rolling Stone.
  10. ^ "The Staple Singers". Billboard.
  11. ^ Bowman, Rob (1997). Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records. Schirmer Books. pp. 274–275.
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