Pitchfork

Stax Records is back. Concord Music Group, the company that acquired the legendary Memphis soul label in 2004, will reactivate Stax this year in coordination with the label's 50th anniversary.

Former Stax-ster Isaac Hayes and nü-soul singer Angie Stone are the reincarnated label's first signings, though its first releases will come in the form of compilations.

Interpretations is a tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire songwriter/bandleader Maurice White. ?uestlove (listed as the Randy Watson Experience), Meshell N'degeocello, gospel-hopper Kirk Franklin ("Do you want a revolution? Whoop! Whoop!"), and Chaka Khan all contribute covers of EW&F songs to the album.

The other release currently planned for the label is a double-disc, 50-track anthology titled Stax 50: A 50th Anniversary Celebration and featuring original Stax hits by Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MGs, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, and Sam & Dave, among others.

Stax plans to release over 20 CDs and DVDs this year, including digital releases and remixes, and there are also plans for a feature-length documentary on the label and its history. Of his own re-signing, Isaac Hayes said, "Stax always has been and always will be Soul Music. I am coming back to Stax because there is still so much to do. It's like coming home."

Welcome back, Stax.