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.

The series was revived as "AM Gold" in 1995, with a different cover design (early volumes had an artist's drawing of a pocket transistor radio, with later volumes bearing a "gold record" with the year or era spotlighted emblazoned over the top). The first 20 volumes were re-titled issues of volumes from the former "Super Hits" series with identical track lineups, while new volumes covering the mid- and late-1970s (including individual volumes for each of the years 1974-1979) were included.

The series was revived as "AM Gold" in 1995, with a different cover design (early volumes had an artist's drawing of a pocket transistor radio, with later volumes bearing a "gold record" with the year or era spotlighted emblazoned over the top). The first 20 volumes were re-titled issues of volumes from the former "Super Hits" series with identical track lineups, while new volumes covering the mid- and late-1970s (including individual volumes for each of the years 1974-1979) were included.

The Happy Prince is a studio album by the New Zealand rock band The La De Das, released in June 1969. It was the third album from the group and is often cited as the first Australian and New Zealand concept album…

Three CD box set. Time Machine is a fascinating look at a equally fascinating time in music, containing 41 tracks from the first golden age of the Vertigo label including rare and classic tracks from the likes of Aphrodite's Child, Black Sabbath, Colosseum, Gentle Giant, Jade Warrior and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Also contains a 48-Page Booklet containing biogs, rare photographs and exclusive interviews. Whether you are a fine of Psychedelia or Prog Rock, there's something here to excite your senses.

A jam band coming out of the Midwest in the mid-'90s, Umphrey's McGee edged toward the Frank Zappa side of the improv rock scale, as opposed to the Grateful Dead/Allman Brothers Band direction of their many contemporaries. The members of Umphrey's McGee met at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana…

Time Life collections are usually rock-solid groupings of classic songs presented carefully and lovingly, and the FM Rock series is no exception. The theme seems to be songs you might find on a free-form FM station, because each volume contains songs that no commercial program director would come close to allowing on the air. Mixed in with these selections are some classic FM tunes as well, making for a wild and unpredictable listen. For example, Vol. 2 has hit tracks by the Doobie Brothers ("Rockin' Down the Highway"), Rod Stewart ("Every Picture Tells a Story"), and Little Feat ("Willin'"), but also obscurities like Crazy Horse's "Gone Dead Train" and Fleetwood Mac's "Jewel Eyed Judy," as well as oddball choices like Moby Grape's "Gypsy Wedding" and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come." Beyond being entertaining listening, all the entries in the series could turn listeners on to bands they missed the first time around, and are fine additions to the collection of someone who wants to delve deeper into the music of the '70s.

Sounds of the Seventies was a 40-volume series issued by Time-Life during the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s, spotlighting pop music of the 1970s. Much like Time-Life's other series chronicling popular music, volumes in the "Sounds of the Seventies" series covered a specific time period, including individual years in some volumes, and different parts of the decade (for instance, the early 1970s) in others; in addition, some volumes covered specific trends, such as music popular on album-oriented rock stations on the FM band.