The Fetishists

Varese's The Best of the Blues Band collects sixteen highlights from the Blues Band, the group vocalist Paul Jones formed after leaving Manfred Mann. This music is pretty much straight-ahead British blues, but since it was recorded after the peak of British blues, it's a little slicker and more commercial, and it also boasts some hints of album rock. As such, it's primarily of interest to either British blues fetishists or Manfred Mann collectors.

The first Stax-Volt box was a monolith, standing as the definitive document of the labels and, therefore, gritty Southern soul. Its sequel, The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971 is considerably more problematic. Covering only four years compared to its predecessor, which showcased nine years, Vol. 2 contains 216 tracks, including all of the A- and B-sides released during that era.