All Categories
Compiled with the same care and attention to detail as the landmark Chess Blues box set, this set presents the rhythm & blues side of Chess Records and, in many ways, is the more entertaining of the two. Ninety-nine tracks cover the label's astonishing breadth of jump blues combos, vocal groups, and rock & roll pioneers. You can't help but be overwhelmed by all this great music. The work of giants like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley sounds even more exciting in context with underrated gems from the likes of the Moonglows, Paul Gayten, and the Dozier Boys. No one is going to deny the greatness of Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88" or Etta James's breathtaking performance on "At Last." But you haven't lived until you've laughed at Roscoe Gordon's "Booted," sung broken falsetto to Clarence "Frogman" Henry's immortal "Ain't Got No Home," or wrung tears from your hanky to the ambient strains of the Corsairs' gorgeous "Smokey Places." --Ken Hohman