Peter James Find You Dead

A psychedelic blues-rock outfit whose only album, 1969's Please Tell a Friend, has enough interesting moments, given the era's production quirks, to make it a highly sought after period piece, Sugar Creek originated when John Edwards (who later, as Jonathan Edwards, had a big hit in 1971 with "Sunshine") and guitarist Malcolm McKinney met while both were attending Ohio University. The two drafted in Malcolm's brother Tod McKinney and began playing music together as St. James Doornob, becoming the Infinite Doornob when Joe Dolce and Gary Gans came over to join from the Finite Minds. Moving east to Boston, the band built a fair following on the New England/New York club circuit, changing its name yet again, this time to Headstone Circus, and eventually settled in as Sugar Creek…

This whopping 30-CD box set gathers together the best of Trojan's three-disc box set series. Included are the Ska, DJ, Dub, Instrumentals, Jamaican Superstars, Lovers, Producer Series, Rocksteady, Roots, and Tribute to Bob Marley volumes, each of which can be found under Trojan Box Set for their individual reviews. What's lacking here is a booklet with additional notes and information; the bulk seems to demand some extra coverage and care, yet all that's here are the original notes of each volume – only as much text as can fit on the back of the CD sleeves. From a music standpoint, however, this box is excellent; a truly diverse and comprehensive collection. Of the 500 songs, less than ten reappear on another volume, so you get a more-than-satisfying amount of music spanning the history of the Trojan label.