The One Decent Thing

The Chocolate Watchband's debut album, No Way Out was also their most heavily Rolling Stones-influenced album, but appreciating the album and what's on it (and what's not) requires some explanation. Released in September of 1967, No Way Out came at the end of the band's first 15 months of existence, a period that encompassed the recording and release of four singles of generally extraordinary quality, and as good as anything heard from any garage band anywhere during that period…

A pop music band from California in the sunshine pop genre, The Association are known for their tight vocal harmony. In the 1960s the group had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts…

The heartache behind Vertical Horizon's breakout 1999 record Everything You Want​ helped the group tear up the charts with hits like title track “Everything You Want,” and “You’re a God.” But nearly 20 years later, the group is no longer dwelling on the sorrows of the past: After decades of self-imposed misery, frontman Matt Scannell's sluggish journey to harnessing happiness has produced the group’s brightest record yet.

Going back to 1987's Classics, Vol. 11, there has been a handful of decent single-disc Brothers Johnson anthologies. Through 2012, the group still lacked a double-disc compilation to do proper justice to its catalog. A couple minor issues aside, Stomp: The Best of the Brothers Johnson – released through Universal U.K.'s Spectrum division in 2013 – is an ideal overview. The discs are filled to near capacity, and all but one of the Brothers Johnson's charting R&B singles (the minor hit "Dancin' Free") are included. So, all the hit essentials – including the number ones "I'll Be Good to You," "Strawberry Letter 23," and "Stomp!" – are here, as are some excellent album cuts, such as the low-key sweet soul gem "Closer to the One That You Love." There's still some greatness that remains bound to the albums; "Caught Up" and "In the Way," from Winners, surpass some of the other album cuts here, but neither one is included.

Various Artists - The Complete Stax & Volt Singles 1959-1968 (1991) {9CD Set Reissued 2016 Digitally Remastered}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.64 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.51 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 215 Mb | 5% repair rar
©1959-68, 1991, 2016 Atlantic / ATCO / Rhino / Warner | 081227954666
R&B / Blues / Soul / Doo Wop / Early Pop / Funk / Soul-Blues / Early R&B

9CD reconfiguration of original Atlantic box set, featuring every A-side the label released during those nine years, as well as several B-sides. The set is a definitive portrait of gritty, deep Southern soul. For any serious soul or rock collector, it's an essential set, since Stax-Volt was not only a musically revolutionary label, its roster was deep with talent, which means much of the music on this collection is first-rate. 11 of these singles charted on Billboard.