LIMITED EDITION 180-Gram audiophile 15-LP numbered vinyl box set with exclusive extras in a Georgia-style solid wood peach crate. All nine albums have been newly remastered by Kevin Reeves [Idlewild South 45th Anniversary (2015), The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (2014)] from the original analog stereo master tapes to 192kHz 24-bit and cut by Abbey Road Mastering Studios onto copper plates using their DMM (Direct Metal Mastering) lathe for superior audio fidelity.
This late 1969-70 British group (recording at Abbey Road for EMI's progressive Harvest label) manages to sound authentically American on this collection of 1920's & 1930's blues, folk & jug band songs (though an actual jug is played on only a few tunes). They are traditional tunes. When this album failed commercially, two members exited, and the reconstituted group shortened their name to "Panama Limited", started making limited use of electric instruments and started writing original songs influenced by Captain Beefheart.
As a longtime staff arranger for Liberty Records, Bob Florence wrote some of the most innovative and challenging charts in postwar jazz - in many respects a man out of time, he possessed a particular brilliance for large-ensemble arrangements in the tradition of Duke Ellington, although the commercial vogue for big-band jazz had long since passed.
Over the years the group (dubbed the Limited Edition in 1982) served as a launching pad for a number of first-call L.A. session players, and in 2000 the LP Serendipity 18 won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance by a Large Ensemble. Florence died of pneumonia on May 15, 2008, two weeks shy of his 76th birthday.
Collector's box set from Anthem includes their seven studio albums, a rare live album "LAST ANTHEM," and a bonus CD with tracks not included in their original albums. Also includes a DVD with excerpts from "LAST ANTHEM" and interview with the members. Limited to 2000 copy.