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Various Artists - The Chess Story 1947-1975 (1952-1954 Part One) (Disc 3) (1999)

Track listing:
  1. Mr Highway Man Howlin' Wolf 2:48
  2. Murmur Low Big Boy Spires 2:41
  3. Walkin' The Boogie John Lee Hooker 2:44
  4. When I Am Gone (extended version) Joe Hill Louis 3:46
  5. Truckin' Little Woman Willie Nix 2:40
  6. Sugar Mama John Lee Hooker 3:14
  7. Juke Little Walter & His Nightcats 2:45
  8. Date Bait Blue Smitty 2:36
  9. Every Day I Have The Blues Joe Williams 2:35
  10. Standing Around Cryin' Muddy Waters 3:22
  11. Mean Old World Little Walter 2:55
  12. I Don't Know Willie Mabon 3:09
  13. 24 Hours Eddie Boyd 3:28
  14. Me And My Chauffeur Memphis Minnie 2:52
  15. Sad Hours Little Walter 3:12
  16. She Just Won't Do Right (Dust My Broom) Elmore 3:01
  17. I'm Mad Willie Mabon 2:38
  18. Be Careful What You Do John Brim 2:41
  19. Off The Wall Little Walter 2:50
  20. Diggin' My Potatoes Washboard Sam 2:45
  21. Nadine The Coronets 2:51
  22. I'm Glad Mitzi Mars 2:35
  23. Forty Cups Of Coffee Danny Overbea 3:11
  24. Tell Me Mama Little Walter 2:46
  25. Third Degree Eddie Boyd 3:15

Notes

First the good news, which is really good: the sound on this 340-song set is about as good as one ever fantasized it could be, and that means it runs circles around any prior reissues; from the earliest Aristocrat sides by the Five Blazers and Jump Jackson & His Orchestra right up through Muddy Waters' "Going Down to Main Street," it doesn't get any better than this set. The clarity pays a lot of bonuses, beginning with the impression that it gives of various artists' instrumental prowess. In sharp contrast to the past efforts in this direction by MCA, however, the producers of this set have not emasculated the sound in the course of cleaning it up, as was the case with the Chuck Berry box, in particular. When the rock & roll era dawns at Chess as depicted on disc five, the sound is nice and dirty, just really sharp. The contents of the set are largely "limited" -- if that's the word for any 340-song collection -- to Chess' blues, R&B, rock & roll, and soul output, although Ramsey Lewis gets a nod, as does comedian Pigmeat Markham. What's more, the care lavished on the songs is virtually universal -- there was time spent getting all of it right. One wishes that the same could be said for one of the featured bonuses on this set, the CD-ROM that comprises the 15th disc (disc 14 is a pair of interviews with Phil Chess and Marshall Chess). First, there are the skimpy film clips, misspellings ("Arether Franklin") and incorrect dates. There also would have been enough room to put a complete Chess discography on the CD-ROM, rather than just the MCA reissues of Chess' material. The CDs themselves conveniently assembled in three fold-out volumes in a slipcase, but identifying individual tracks and artists means constantly referring back to the booklets glued into those volumes; additionally, it would've been nice to have had a sessionography on the songs, or at least the release dates, or even release years. This set is available only as a British import as of the spring of 2000; it is unbeatable for sound, and should be considered on that -- but only on that -- basis.