A great late 70s set from BB King – a record that really echoes that mix of jazz and blues that he first had when coming out of the Memphis scene – but in a style that's very different than his initial recordings! Here, King plays with some great production help from The Crusaders, who also play on the record too – and add a hip current of LA groove to BB's vocals and guitar – never too slick or tight, but really opening up the record in ways that show the sophistication of his playing – that subtle current of jazz influences that made him so different than the rest! Titles include "Second Hand Woman", "Take It Home", "The Beginning Of The End", "Tonight I'm Gonna Make You A Star", "Happy Birthday Blues", and "Same Old Story". LP, Vinyl record album

Here it is, the mother of them all! The set's got 8CDs worth of killer soul, funk, and Rhythm & Blues – all culled from the rich history of the Atlantic records label, and lovingly put together with great notes and everything! Although this sort of set usually tends to be a bit simplistic, this box actually features a beautiful mix of tracks, lots of which are hard to get in any format. It's a lot to go through, but it's worth the trip! We can't even begin to list the tracks here, there's 203(!) of them in all, but some of the artists include the Bar Kays, the Beginning of the End, Archie Bell & The Drells, Ruth Brown, Solomon Burke, the Capitols, Clarence Carter, the Chords, the Cookies, Don Covay, King Curtis, Tyrone Davis, the Drifters, Roberta Flack, King Floyd, Aretha Franklin, Major Harris, Donny Hathaway, the Ikettes, Willis Jackson, Nat Kendricks & The Swans, Barabra Lewis,the Mar-keys, Les McCann & Eddie Harris, Stick McGhee, Otis & Carla, the Persuaders, Percy Sledge, The Spinners, Willie Tee, Joe Tex, Chuck Willis, Betty Wright and loads more! (Soul, Blues) CD

A nicely rootsy set – one that mixes vintage work with new material done in a similar mode – all at a level that criss-crosses between rural blues, trad jazz, and a range of other older styles! The package is maybe less a full compendium of the roots of black music than it is a set that does a good job of changing artists while keeping an eye on a thematic sense of expression – beginning with actual roots, then using roots revival and contemporary material to echo a unified aesthetic! The package has track by track notes, and essays on the music – and the 40 track set features work from Cedric Burnside, Corey Harris & Sharde Thomas, Ranky Tanky, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Lightnin Hopkins, Staple Singers, Bennie Richardson, Golden Eagles, Martin Bogan & Armstrong, Bessie Jones, Skip James, Cephas & Wiggins, Inmate Named Peter, Rev Gary Davis, John Jackson, Odetta, Mississippi John Hurt, Professor Longhair, Campbell Brothers, Dom Flemons, Tuts Washington, and others. CD