The Complete Motown Singles has been a dream project of Motown and soul fanatics for many years, ever since the first decade of Stax/Volt singles was compiled in an impressive nine-disc box set in 1991. Prior to that, no soul label had its output as thoroughly documented as that set – there had been the Atlantic R&B box, which collected highlights, but it never attempted to capture the label's entire run – and while The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 missed a B-side or two, it was an exceptional piece of music history, and pretty damn entertaining to boot.
Robert Lockwood, Jr., learned his blues firsthand from an unimpeachable source: the immortal Robert Johnson. Lockwood was capable of conjuring up the bone-chilling Johnson sound whenever he desired, but he was never one to linger in the past for long – which accounts for the jazzy swing he often brought to the licks he played on his 12-string electric guitar. Born in 1915, Lockwood was one of the last living links to the glorious Johnson legacy. When Lockwood's mother became romantically involved with the charismatic rambler in Helena, AR, the quiet teenager suddenly gained a role model and a close friend so close that Lockwood considered himself Johnson's Stepson.
First ..WHAT A GREAT CD..the production is absolutely superb-really BIG sound that'll make your stereo sound like a million bucks!. The songs are really gutsy, and - Otis fans take note: word on the street has it that Otis played a FAR stronger part in both song-writing and production than credited on the sleevenotes……