a Kind of Loving 1962

Elvis Presley - Elvis #1 Singles (2006) {20-CD Deluxe Collector's Box Set, Ltd. Numbered Ed., U.S. Version}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 498 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 234 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 271 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2006 RCA / Victor / Sony BMG Music Entertainment | 82876-75447-2
Pop / Rock / AM Pop / Early Pop / Early Rock / Rock & Roll / Rockabilly

CD replicas of original singles and EPs from the '50s and '60s have been a hot item in collectors' circles since the latter half of the '90s, yet they remain a rather bewildering item to a wider audience. After all, for listeners who don't fetishize original packaging – the photo sleeves, the shifting logos on the label – it's hard to grasp the purpose of a set that contains 40 songs spread out over 20 discs, as they are on Elvis #1 Singles, a set that rounds up 20 of the King's chart-topping hits and serves them up as two-track CDs, complete with original B-sides and artwork.

The first six volumes of this unauthorized series of Dave Clark Five CD reissues contain everything from the 12 non-compilation LPs the group issued in the U.S. between 1964-1968, as well as everything from the four U.K. LPs (never issued in the U.S.) that followed in 1969-1972. The seventh and final volume contains 25 tracks that somehow didn't find a place on any of those LPs.

These four CDs represent the most creative period of Ray Charles’ life – roughly 1954 to 1962. He died in 2004 and, at the time of his death, was working on a duets album which was released, very appropriately, as Genius And Friends. When the excellent bio-pic, Ray was released with Jamie Foxx, one of the straplines was a quote from Frank Sinatra, “Ray Charles is the only genius in our business.”