Jimmy Stewart is Dead

Various Artists - The Chess Story: 1947-1975 (2000) {14CD Box Set, MCA–Universal 3805962}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 4.61 Gb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 178 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1947-75, 2000 MCA / Universal | 3805962
Blues / Chicago Blues / Electric Blues / Regional Blues

First the good news, which is really good: the sound on this 340-song set is about as good as one ever fantasized it could be, and that means it runs circles around any prior reissues; from the earliest Aristocrat sides by the Five Blazers and Jump Jackson & His Orchestra right up through Muddy Waters' "Going Down to Main Street," it doesn't get any better than this set. The clarity pays a lot of bonuses, beginning with the impression that it gives of various artists' instrumental prowess. In sharp contrast to the past efforts in this direction by MCA, however, the producers of this set have not emasculated the sound in the course of cleaning it up, as was the case with the Chuck Berry box, in particular.

Every Picture Tells a Story is the third album by Rod Stewart, released in the middle of 1971. It became Stewart's most critically acclaimed album, and became the standard by which all of his subsequent albums were judged.

In recording 1984's CAMOUFLAGE, Rod Stewart's greatest accomplishment was getting old friend & employer Jeff Beck to join him on three songs. The most successful is the fiery "Infatuation," one of two Top 10 hits for Stewart, who barely cracked the Top 15 with anything off his previous album BODY WISHES. Stewart's choice of producer, Amy Grant knob-turner Michael Omartian, meant CAMOUFLAGE was awash in synthesizers and the band was made up of facile studio musicians…

None of Rod Stewart's many self re-inventions has been half-hearted, least of all the full-fledged adoption of the full-on electric rock of 1975's ATLANTIC CROSSING. This album saw Stewart moving past the folk and blues of some of his past work, trading it in for some brash saxophones and jumpy R&B-tinged rhythms. AC features a host of well-known Yank studio cats, including guitarist Steve Cropper (whose contribution was also compositional), producer Tom Dowd, and the Memphis Horns, who all lend an able hand in helping Stewart leave his UK roots behind…

Though it lacks a truly great selection of songs, Tonight I'm Yours is a fine latter-day effort from Rod Stewart, and one of the last records that makes Rod sound like he's hip. Sporting a shiny new wave production, Tonight I'm Yours has a sleek, professional sound that can make even mindless rave-ups like "Tora, Tora, Tora (Out With the Boys)" a guilty pleasure…