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The text is peppered with classy black & whites photos of Chess giants like MUDDY WATERS, JOHN LEE HOOKER, LITTLE WALTER, HOWLIN' WOLF, WILLIE DIXON, SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON, CHUCK BERRY and ETTA JAMES. The music is far grittier than the "Rhythm & Roll" box where the Blues morphed into Rhythm 'n' Blues and then into Soul, but it's equally brilliant. And even now (in late 2009) with many subsequent compilations and box sets having followed - I estimate there's still at least 20 to 30 tracks exclusive to this set.
Just like Peter Grendysa's liner notes in the "Chess Rhythm & Roll" box that followed it, the booklet in this is a peach. Unreleased gems include the fabulous piano-boogie of "Cryin' The Blues" by LAURA RUCKER sounding like a blues'd up version of Nellie Lutcher (lyrics above) - and a truly electrifying stripped down alternate take of "All Night Long" by Muddy Waters (just Muddy on guitar and Little Walter on harmonica) where he wants his woman to "rock me.all night long.'til my back has no bone." Great stuff.Listening to "Chess Blues" a full 16 years after its release is still a fabulous experience - and although it's not nearly as rare as it's follow-up set "Chess Rhythm & Roll", it's just as desirable. Remastered from Aristocrat and Chess master tapes by ERICK LABSON (over 800 credits to his name), the sound is great throughout - excepting a few tracks dubbed from disc ("Memory Of Sonny Boy" by FOREST CITY JOE from 1949 is one of them).
Released in early 1993, the 101 tracks on this 4CD box represented the first proper overview by MCA of the Chess Blues legacy since their acquistion of its entire catalogue way back in 1985. Best of all though is the read - the paragraphs have great insights into the songs and revelatory information on long forgotten artists like LAURA RUCKER, ROBERT NIGHTHAWK and ARBEE STIDHAM. Recommended - big time.PS: See also 5 separate reviews - the 1994 4CD box set "Chess Rhythm & Roll", the mammoth 15CD box set "The Chess Story 1947-1975" issued in 2000 and it's 3 separate parts issued as stand-alone 5CD sets in 2003
Here's a basic breakdown (each CD has a themed label): Disc 1, 1947-1952, 25 Tracks, Yellow Aristocrat Label (73:31 minutes)Disc 2, 1952-1954, 25 Tracks, Blue Chess Label (73:01 minutes)Disc 3, 1954-1960, 26 Tracks, Plum Checker Label (73:08 minutes)Disc 4, 1960-1967, 25 Tracks, Brown Argo Label (71:30 minutes) "Chess Blues" was produced and co-compiled by ANDY McKAIE and features a wonderful 64-page booklet detailing track-by-track liner notes by MARY KATHERINE ALDIN of the LIVING BLUES Magazine (she handled the liner notes for many of the early Chess compilations). There are a few reproduced trade adverts and an opening comment by PHIL CHESS.
So, even if you have a lot of this music, it's still nice to have it compacted into 4 discs, especially for the car. Lenoir, etc. There are also a couple of tracks by the great Buddy Guy, Otis Spann and Albert King (Stevie Ray Vaughan's main influence). This 4 CD set (101 tracks recorded between 1947-67) probably contains many songs you already have, as there are quite a few from Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson. The sound is quite good, though there is some minimal surface noise on a few of the tracks from the 40's, which is to be expected. Now, if you are new to the blues or have a minimal collection, this is the perfect place to start. These were Chess Records most successful artists, due in no small part to the song writing of Willie Dixon, who wrote quite a few for each of them (except Hooker) as well as himself. Or even if you are an avid blues fan, you still may discover some new music here to your liking from lesser known artists like Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim, Jimmy Rogers, Lowell Fulson, Willie Mabon, Billy Boy Arnold, J.B.
Sound quality is not digital, with the scratchy background of recordings from mediums of the time.
Let's just leave it at this.IT'S A 4 CD BOX WITH BLUES FROM CHESS. DUH. How should I put this.subtle. THAT'S MUDDY WATERS AND HOWLING WOLF. OF COURSE 5 STARS. historic. passionate.
In fact, almost half the tracks are rarities. Everything here is good, with most of the tracks being better than good. This is a collection of 101 blues recordings from the Chess Records vault. But the obscurities are almost as good as the well known recordings. If you want to learn about the blues, this is the perfect place to start. It features many of the best known blues singers, as well as some performers that history has forgotten. Most of Chess Records' biggest hit blues records are included, but there are also many obscurities here.
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