"The R & B Box: 30 Years Of Rhythm & Blues" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – 108 R and B Tracks Covering 1943 to 1972 and Including labels Decca, Aladdin, King, End, Modern, Chess, Checker, Atlantic, Motown, Stax, Polydor, Minit etc (November 1994 US Rhino 6CD Long Box Set (in Leatherette Effect) - Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch, Chris Clarke, Ken Perry and Bob Fisher Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/R-B-Box-30-Years-Rhythm/dp/B0000033EL?crid=30LS57S8IH5EO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KsZDhsc_zGys2dg_rrmIr_H5hwBDWpnv8rYxuMAkG5jK1xkgX9jxZb04C3XeOe0ogZEmsCy-7R1Z-Q4aRdZT4dMYMhlB-VzS9NnOy3hxIhUhNc9kRkL-LSGYV0rrTPOw.h8wPAnMuY15y30Mgz3rEHweqNDFKqqGHaD7ILUgs2lI&dib_tag=se&keywords=r%26B+Box+Rhino&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1730317340&sprefix=r%26b+box+rhino%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-7&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=57007186636a53956e5d15e1ec3732ec&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Music **** to *****

Audio ****

Presentation ***

"...Tell It How It Is... "

There was a time in the Nineties and into the Naughties when I considered Rhino of the USA to be the greatest reissue label of them all. Big shoes when you consider Ace Records of the UK and Bear Family of Germany with their 40 to 50-year-plus catalogues of absolute reissue excellence - and more recently the stunning work Esoteric Recordings, Grapefruit and Doctor Bird have been doing via Cherry Red's large array of specialist reissue imprints. 

But there was just something brilliant about Rhino, a hip US company populated by history-preserving loons who just happened to have access to the cream of the recorded crop in terms of licensing primo oldies material. 

Which is why the US-only set "The R & B Box: 30 Years Of Rhythm & Blues" by VARIOUS ARTISTS of 15 November 1994 on Rhino R2 71806 (Barcode 08277180621) was such a huge disappointment. But before we get into its disastrous ugly-bug self-destructive presentation and lack of decent playing times on each CD - let's sing the praises of what is good. 

There are 108-tracks across six themed discs in a long-box presentation with a 60-page full-featured booklet:

CD1 "Jumpin' The Blues (1943-1950)" - 53:52 minutes, 18 Tracks
CD2 "Teenagers Are Diggin' It (1951-1954)" - 50:55 minutes, 18 Tracks
CD3 "Rockin' 'n' Rollin' (1955-1956)" - 48:50 minutes, 18 Tracks
CD4 "Goin' Nationwide (1956-1961)" - 47:07 minutes, 18 Tracks 
CD5 "Soul Brothers & Soul Sisters (1961-1965)" - 48:12 minutes, 18 Tracks 
CD6 "The End Of The Golden Age (1966-1972)" - 55:31 minutes, 18 Tracks 

Rhino not surprisingly start with the great grandfather of all Rhythm 'n' Blues genius Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five in 1943 doing "Five Guys Named Moe" on his famously catchy Decca classics, and ends on Disc 6 with The Spinners on Atlantic Records in 1972 telling us "I’ll Be Around" should we need their soothing advice in the matter of broken hearts. Between those two huge compass points comes revered genre labels like King, Aladdin, End, Specialty, Brunswick, Chess, Checker, Atlantic, Motown, Stax, Minit, Polydor, Volt and a huge array of other associated independent pioneers. 

The problem is that each CD play feels short - three above fifty minutes and three below. The first three CDs in particular pass rather quickly with overly familiar titles only to slip into early Soul by Disc 4. There's only 1 James Brown cut when he dominated R&B for entire decades, there's no Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye is represented by the underwhelming "Pride And Joy". I suppose you could argue what should and shouldn't have been included/excluded ad nauseam, but I can't help thinking they bit off more than they could chew with a one stop box, Rhino really should have made this Volume 1 of an R&B Series so they could dedicate more to it like they did with their lovely Doo Wop boxes across 3 volumes. 

But the worst part is the actual way "The R&B Box..." is made. It has a stippled-leatherette look (don't know why) with Atlantic Records and early Soul star Solomon Burke at the microphone on the front sleeve. You can't read the lettering on the rear for the track lists even with a squint. But then you open it and find that Rhino put each CD into an individual jewel case - three piled on three - two piles inside the bay (too weighty). The problem is that there's no wiggle room getting any of them out, so as you try to pull up CD1, it pushes against the flimsy deep corner walls and rips them instantly. I've seen loads of these sets across the years I served penal in Reckless Records in London's Soho and so many were afflicted with this implosion of the holding walls. 

The booklet has another ugly black-as-night cover (with nothing on it) but (it must be said) more than makes up for its boring visage with an array of classy black and white publicity photos throughout the thoroughly enthusiastic text from BILLY VERA. It's cool to see lesser-highlighted names like Little Esther, Mabel Joy, Percy Mayfield, Jackie Brenston and Buddy Johnson get their photo moment in the sun. Each inner cover flap has a collage of those beautiful R&B posters where names like The Five Keys, Jackie Wilson, Clyde McPhatter, The Spaniels, The Clovers, Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, The Coasters, Chuck Willis and Booker T. & The MG's pounded the stage boards to capitalise on hot 45s breaking and making waves on the US Billboard R&B charts. I would have used these as the booklet and box artwork and in colour. Each song entry has writer credits, discography info and catalogue numbers, release dates and chart placing etc. 

The Audio comes from a team of five experience engineers – BLL INGLOT and DAN HERSCH (long-time workaholics for Rhino) with CHRIS CLARKE, KEN PERRY and BOB FISHER – names any oldies fan will know well. Beginning in bombastic but clean Mono, the songs slowly slink into Stereo as the Discs progress and apart from some early tunes that betray their had-no-money but had-the-feel independent origins – it all sounds tickety-boo and at times thrilling. Overall I'd award Presentation 3, content 4 with Audio 4 (at times a 5). 

There is huge debate as to what actually is 'R&B' especially in US circles - what do call the mighty "Green Onions" by Booker T & The MG's - early Soul, 60ts Funk, Stax R&B, the greatest instrumental Funk ever laid down by the coolest cats ever - well all of it really. "Speedoo" by The Cadillacs, "In The Still Of The Nite" by The Five Satins and "Duke Of Earl" by Earl Chandler have been (rightly) plopped onto Doo Wop and Vocal group compilations for decades, B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone" and Bobby Bland's "I Pity The Fool" are fabulous Sixties Blues, Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It" is a hair's breath away from out-and-out Rock and Roll mayhem while Billy Stewart's cover of Gershwin's "Summertime" is a mixture of Jazz, Swing and sophisticated nightclub smooch all rolled into one. Ike & Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" gives a nod towards Creedence Clearwater Revival's Swamp Rock while Brook Benton counts the warm raindrops in Tony Joe White's "Rainy Night in Georgia" - as gorgeous a groove as Clarence Carter's pleading in "Slip Away". 

There's a lot to love here, there really is, but you should also know there's a lot that should have been done in another way, especially that rather austere packaging for a genre of music that has always been associated with so much joy. 

Still, sat in my man cave in Nov 2024 with a post Covid-19 future looming tastily over the Margate sunset - I put on Dan Penn and Chips Moman's classic "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man" as interpreted by the powerhouse lungs of Aretha Franklin, and as Chris Kenner was fond of saying, "I Like It Like That"...(at least part of me does)...

"Road Fever: The Complete Bearsville Recordings 1972-1975" by FOGHAT – Five Albums "Foghat"(July 1972), "Foghat [aka Rock And Roll]" (March 1973), "Energized" (January 1974), "Rock And Roll Outlaws" (October 1974), "Fool For The City" (September 1975) and an Exclusive Compilation "Single Versions 1972-1975" – Featuring Guitarists Lonesome Dave Peverett and Rod Price, Bassist Tony Stevens, Drummer Roger Earl and Bassist, Keyboardist and Producer Nick Jameson (March 2023 UK Cherry Red/HNE Recordings 6CD Clamshell Box Set Compilation – Tim Debney Masters Using 1990s WEA/Rhino Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROAD-FEVER-BEARSVILLE-RECORDINGS-1972-1975/dp/B0BS1LVBST?crid=1CQH54EYXL26K&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8rnWJk6KHL2U86fOUecS4g._h9XhGLWuU9gDYAv6bQA-ZwAlUPotEatq24rRCQjwU8&dib_tag=se&keywords=5013929928428&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1730118495&sprefix=5013929928428%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=3e7b7275ab5c482f547a7dd718fd43d5&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS: 

Material *** to ****

Presentation *****

Audio **** to *****

"…Slow Ride…"

Boogie, Boogie and more Boogie. You could not in a month of Sundays accuse England's FOGHAT of slacking on the let's-rock-until-we-puke front.

As you wade through these good-to-sometimes-great five albums at the start of their huge Blues Rock/Classic Rock career followed by a neatly compiled Single Versions 1972-1975 Bonus CD Companion with Rare Single and Promo-Only Edits – you are left both exhausted and exhilarated – much like one of their live shows I would imagine. 

This is Gee-Tar Rock in the same vein as Ten Years After or Savoy Brown or Status Quo - but with a very (somehow) American tint to it (Foghat were always much bigger in the States than at home in their native Blighty where buyers all but ignored them for decades).

I didn't (in honesty) pick up on Foghat until I heard the brill, catchy and radio friendly Slide Boogie of "Fool For The City" and bought the album of the same name in the Autumn of 1975. I went back and picked up their Bearsville catalogue on the cheap where their LPs were a staple in secondhand record emporiums. Which leads us to this rather cute and cuddly six-disc Clamshell Box Set with dinky Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves, a decent 20-page booklet and Tim Debney Masters that I swear are simply the Rhino Remasters of old (the 1990s) re-licensed. 

Time to ride people – and I don't mean Red Rum in the Epson Derby – more Fagash Lil in the Cheltenham Paddocks (the seedier end of the stalls, if you get my sack of hayseed)…to the details…

UK released 31 March 2023 - "Road Fever: The Complete Bearsville Recordings 1972-1975" by FOGHAT on Cherry Red/HNE Recordings QHNEBOX184 (Barcode 5013929928428) is a 6CD Clamshell Box Set (Five Albums and One Exclusive Single Versions Compilation) that plays out:

CD1 "Foghat" (38:09 minutes):
1. I Just Want To Make Love To You [Side 1]
2. Trouble, Trouble
3. Leavin' Again (Again!)
4. Fool's Hall Of Fame 
5. Sarah Lee
6. Highway (Killing Me) [Side 2]
7. Maybelline 
8. A Hole To Hide In
9. Gotta Get To Know You 
Tracks 1 to 9 are their debut album "Foghat" - released July 1972 in the USA on Bearsville BR 2077 and belatedly released June 1974 in the UK on Bearsville K 45503. Produced by DAVE EDMUNDS – peaked at No.127 on the US Billboard LP charts (didn't chart UK)

CD2 "Foghat" - aka "Rock And Roll" due to cover art - (38:37 minutes):
1. Ride, Ride, Ride [Side 1]
2. Feel So Bad 
3. Long Way To Go 
4. It's Too Late 
5. What A Shame [Side 2]
6. Helping Hand 
7. Road Fever 
8. She's Gone
9. Couldn't Make Her Stay
Tracks 10 to 18 are their 2nd album "Foghat (aka Rock And Roll)" released March 1973 in the USA on Bearsville BR 2136 and belated released July 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 45514 . Produced by TIM DAWES – peaked at No.67 on the US Billboard LP charts (didn't chart UK)

CD3 "Energized" (40:02 minutes):
1. Honey Hush [Side 1]
2. Step Outside
3. Golden Arrow
4. Home In My Hand
5. Wild Cherry[Side 2]
6. That'll Be The Day
7. Fly By Night
8. Nothin' I Won't Do
Tracks 1 to 8 are their third studio album "Energized" - released January 1974 in the USA on Bearsville BR 6950 and belatedly released July 1974 in the UK on Bearsville K 55500. Produced by TOM DAWES - peaked at No.34 on the US Billboard LP charts (didn't chart UK)

CD4 "Rock And Roll Outlaws" (38:58 minutes):
1. Eight Days On The Road [Side 1]
2. Hate To See You Go
3. Dreamer
4. Trouble In My Way
5. Rock & Roll Outlaw [Side 2]
6. Shirley Jean
7. Blue Spruce Woman
8. Chateau LaFitte '59 Boogie
Tracks 1 to 8 are their fourth studio album "Rock And Roll Outlaws" - released October 1974 in the USA on Bearsville BR 6956 and October 1974 in the UK on Bearsville K 55502. Produced and Engineered by NICK JAMESON - peaked at No. 40 on the US Billboard LP charts (didn't chart UK)

CD5 "Fool For The City" (35:36 minutes):
1. Fool For The City [Side 1]
2. My Babe
3. Slow Ride
4. Terraplane Blues [Side 2]
5. Save Your Loving (For Me)
6. Drive Me Home
7. Take It Or Leave It
Tracks 1 to 7 are their fifth album "Fool For The City" released October 1975 in the USA on Bearsville BR 6959 and February 1976 in the UK on Bearsville K 55507. Produced and Engineered by NICK JAMESON – peaked at No.23 on the US Billboard LP charts (didn't chart UK)

CD6 "Single Versions 1972-1975" (46:17 minutes):
1. I Just Want To Make Love You (Mono Edit, 3:14 minutes)
2. I Just Want To Make Love You (Stereo Edit, 3:14 minutes)
3. What A Shame (Single Edit, 2:50 minutes)
4. A Hole To Hide In (Single Edit, 3:50 minutes)
5. What A Shame (Mono Edit, 3:24 minutes)
6. What A Shame (Stereo Edit, 3:24 minutes)
7. Ride, Ride, Ride (Stereo Edit, 2:59 minutes)
8. Long Way To Go (Stereo Edit, 4:06 minutes)
9. That'll Be The Day (Mono Edit, 2:52 minutes)
10. Step Outside (Stereo Edit, 3:12 minutes)
11. Slow Ride (Stereo Edit, 3:45 minutes)
12. Slow Ride (Stereo Edit, 5:55 minutes)
13. Fool For The City (Stereo Edit, 3:10 minutes)

Foghat fans have been here before when in March 2012 Edsel Records of England issued six twofer-CDs covering their catalogue from July 1972 to July 1983 – but they and the Complete Albums Box set that followed have long since been deleted and garnishing hefty price tags on auction sites. HNE Recordings (part of Cherry Red) have decided to close the gap with this March 2023 sixer – a good idea. The Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves appeal to all collectors – front and rear covers – all CDs with generic HNE Recordings logo and not the Bearsville labels of old. 

The 20-page booklet has all the album credits and Box Set details at the rear preceded by an in-depth article on the band by XAVIER RUSSELL that includes new and old interviews with Peverett, Price and Nick Jameson. Peppered between are rare Picture Sleeves of Euro 45s. Although it doesn't say so – TIM DEBNEY of Fluid Mastering has I suspect used the Rhino Remasters done in the 1990s (this set is licensed from WEA). But whatever way you look it – every album boogies – solid – punchy – and without doubt four and five having the input of Producer Nick Jameson – sound the most ballsy. 

"Lonesome" Dave Peverett (Guitar & Lead Vocals), Tony Stevens (Bass) and Roger Earl (Drums) came out of the ashes of British Rock-Blues band SAVOY BROWN while second slide-guitar specialist Rod Price was in BLACK CAT BONES who managed one highly collectable album on Decca-Nova in 1970 (featured members of Leafhound and Free guitarist Paul Kossoff). Working on his debut solo LP "Rockpile" at the time – DAVE EDMUNDS recorded Foghat's debut at Rockfield Studios in Wales also. Their aural brief was no-nonsense boogie – Rock and Roll – with maybe some blues and soulful rock in between the cracks. And as a British band they were famously huge in the USA (charted 13 albums there) but less so in their native land. 

Highlights on the debut include the lead-off single that got them noticed – a great boogie version of the Willie Dixon penned/Muddy Waters classic "I Just Want To Make Love To You". There's a fast-as-we-can–go cover of Chuck Berry's "Maybelline" – but there's also the opposite – a very soulful near eight-minute take on Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Gotta Get To Know You" which finishes the album in great style. But the other 6 originals mainly written by Peverett and Price are just as impressive – especially "Leavin' Again (Again!)" where Edmunds treats the vocals and guitars to phasing which gives it such a "Rockpile" sound. "Sarah Lee" is excellent too while the rocking 'money-worries' song "A Hole To Hide In" was a B-side of their debut 7" single in the USA. "Highway (Killing Me)" is gritty too – boogie about life on the road.

Things heat up considerably on the 2nd LP as it opens with "Ride, Ride, Ride" which along with their 2nd US 45 "What A Shame” set down the template for their trademark rocking sound for years to come. But best of all for me is the legendary drummer Bernard Purdie and the Brass section on the blistering "Road Fever" (lyrics above) – they combine with Peverett and the band to incredible effect - rocking like mad men and then Peverett losing it with vocal enthusiasm as the tracks rushes to a manic finish.

By the time Foghat hit studio album number three "Energized" released on the US market in January 1974 – they were on a very definite Rock and Roll upward trajectory (in America at least). The album became their first to finally break the top 50 settling at a peak of No.34 on a very healthy 30-week run. And when you hear the bashing drums and twin-guitar attack of stuff like "Wild Cherry" which Bearsville put on the flipside of their cover of the Buddy Holly 50ts classic "That'll Be The Day" - it is hardly surprising. They also bolstered up that 2:52-minute cover with (uncredited) girly backing singers and brass arrangements to give it more muscle – and it worked. 

Speaking of cool cover choices, Foghat opened the "Energized" album with a rapido Rawk version of the old Joe Turner tune "Honey Hush" – their manic guitar assault resembling the way Fleetwood Mac of the 1970 "Kiln House" line-up did up – just amped up ten-fold. It is also easy to hear why Bearsville chose the catchy sung-chorus of "Step Outside" as the second 45 from their third album platter hooking it up with the Chuck Berry cover "Maybelline" from their debut as its flipside. For me (at least) far better is the fast train song "Golden Arrow" – the distorted vocals of Peverett sounding like a choo-choo a-chuggin' down the line just before a blistering guitar solo. 

The 8-track no-nonsense Brassed-Up Boogie Rock of "Energized" with tracks like (paying my debt with my) "Home In My Hand" song structure worked – so album number four "Rock And Roll Outlaws" followed suit and again broke the Top 50 although this time slipping down a few notches to No.40 and staying only 10-weeks on the US Billboard chart. Opening accounts on Side 1 is another pinging ZZ Top-type boogie cover version that hammers down for 6:08 minutes – this time from a 60ts Howard Tate R&B number on Verve Forecast Records. Their version of "Eight Days On The Road" does the absolute business - Nick Jameson now more involved and arranging guitar parts too – dig that fantastic solo. That is followed by another great slice of riffage "Hate To See You Go" that could easily have been a single too. I also like the acoustic and slide of "Trouble In My Way" – a ballad for Foghat that ended Side 1. 

Another outsider with a six-string gun shows up for the LP title track "Rock & Roll Outlaw" – back to Boogie – itself followed by the very R&R shuffling "Shirley Jean" purring like a wasted movie queen – their trick of singing with the guitar lines making the basic Chuck Berry backbeat feel new. Another impressive gal shows up (this time out of the woods) in the shape of "Blue Spruce Woman" – the lecherous pre-Black Crowes guitars soon joined by Drums and Tambourine. They end their fab fourth with an all-out slide attack – the real-good-time Boogie of "Chateau LaFitte '59 Boogie" – the boys rolling all night long with not-so-cheap booze. For my money – it ends an overlooked album in their cannon. For sure "Fool For The City" is always going to be the LP they will be cited for – but "Rock And Roll Outlaws" is far better than its naff band-and-jet artwork would suggest. Going in my I Saw The Light e-book of over 500 Overlooked Albums between 1955 and 1979. 

Produced to perfection by Nick Jameson - "Fool For The City" opens with a title-track killer. It was edited down from its album length of 4:33 minutes to 3:28 minutes and put out as a 45 in March 1976 in the USA (Bearsville BSS 0307) with “Take It Or Leave It” as its flip. What a killer tune – to this day it elicits a grin and is an oldies playlist regular. But it was the Side 1 monster "Slow Ride" that blew everyone away. Its stunning eight-minutes of slide Blues Boogie was also edited down a more manageable 3:59 minutes and in January 1976 it broke into the US singles chart peaking at a respectable 20 on Bearsville BSS 0306 (the UK variant is on K 15522). CD6 also provides us with a 5:55 minute Stereo Edit of "Slow Ride".

Their take on The Righteous Brothers hit "My Babe" gets a truly fantastic kick-ass makeover as does the Robert Johnson Side 2 opener "Terraplane Blues". The girls and cars "Drive Me Home" goes all barroom Honky Tonk with its sloppy piano backing supporting rocking guitars. It ends on the rather sappy "Take It Or Leave It" – a stab at MOR keyboard schlock – but by that time the rest of the album has boogied its way into your heart.

To sum up – none of these FOGHAT albums are masterpieces of the genre by any stretch of the imagination despite what 5-star reviews may say (and sadly both Peverett and Price passed on in 2000 and 2005). 

But Foghat are remembered with affection for a reason and there are truly great moments of Rock meets the Blues meets Rock 'n' Roll on each one of these Mini LP CD reissues. And now it won't cost the Terraplane or Jet Stream to get them either. Nicely done…

US 7" 45-Singles Covering 1972-1975 Albums:
"I Just Want To Make Love To You" (Single Edit) b/w "Hole To Hide In" (Single Edit)
July 1972, Bearsville BSV 008 (Track 2 on CD6 and 8 on CD1)
July 1972, Bearsville BSV 008 (Promo Only Version of the A-side only - 3:15 Single Edit Version MONO on the A and same timings STEREO on the B – Tracks 1 & 2 on CD6

"What A Shame" (Single Edit, 3:24 minutes) b/w "Helping Hand" (Single Edit)
April 1973, Bearsville BSV 0014 (Tracks 6 on CD6 and 6 on CD2)
April 1973, Bearsville BSV 0014 (Promo Only Version of the A-side only – 3:24 minute edit in MONO on the A and same times STEREO on the B – Tracks 5 & 6 on CD6

"Ride, Ride, Ride" (Single Edit) b/w "It's Too Late" (5:38 minutes)
June 1973, Bearsville BSV 0016 (Track 7 on CD6 and 4 on CD2)
"That'll Be The Day" (2:52 minutes) b/w "Wild Cherry" (5:27 minutes)
January 1974, Bearsville BSV 0019 (Tracks 6& 5 on CD3)
January 1974, Bearsville BSV 0019 (Promo-Only of the A-side – MONO and STEREO Version on the A&B-sides – MONO Mix at 2:52 minutes was exclusive to this release (Track 9 on CD6)

"Step Outside" (Single Edit, 3:12 minutes) b/w "Maybelline"
April 1974, Bearsville BSV 0021 (Track 10 on CD6 and 7 on CD1)
April 1974, Bearsville BSV 0021 (Promo-Only of the A-side – MONO and STEREO Version on the A&B-sides – MONO Mix was exclusive but is not on this set

"Slow Ride" (Single Edit, 3:45 minutes) b/w "Save Your Loving (For Me)"
November 1975, Bearsville BSV 0306 (Track 11 on CD6 and 5 on CD5) 
November 1975 Promo-Only Version of the A-side also had an edit at 5:55 minutes of the seven-minute song – Track 12 on CD6

"Fool For The City" (Single Edit, 3:10 minutes) b/w "Take It Or Leave It"
May 1976, Bearsville BSV 0307 (Track 13 on CD6 and 7 on CD5) 

UK 7" 45-Singles Covering 1972-1975 Albums:
"What A Shame" (Single Edit) b/w "Hole To Hide In" (Single Edit)
June 1972, Bearsville K 15501 (Tracks 3 & 4 on CD6)

"Long Way To Go" (Single Edit) b/w "Ride, Ride, Ride" (Single Edit) 
February 1974, Bearsville K 15511 (Tracks 8 & 7 on CD6)

"Step Outside" (Single Edit) b/w "Maybelline" 
July 1974, Bearsville K 15517 (Track 10 on CD6 and 7 on CD1)

"Slow Ride" (Single Edit, 3:45) b/w "Save Your Loving (For Me)"
January 1976, Bearsville K 15522 (Track 11 on CD6 and 5 on CD5)

"Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee Jay Singles" by JIMMY REED – A&B-sides of Thirty-Nine US 45-Singles (Eleven with 1965 Interview Introductions as Spoken Bonuses) Issued Between July 1953 and December 1965 on Vee Jay Records – Guest Musicians Include Guitarists John Brim, Eddie Taylor, John Littlejohn, Remo Biondi, Lefty Bates, Lonnie Brooks, Hubert Sumlin and Phil Upchurch, Vocalist Mama Reed, Chess Records Bassist and Songwriter Willie Dixon, Bassists Phil Upchurch and Marcus Johnson with Drummers Earl Phillips, Vernell Fournier and Albert Nelson (Albert King the Guitarist) on Drums (August 2017 EU Craft Recordings 3CD 88-Track Foldout Digipak Compilation Collated by Grammy Award Winners Scott Billington and Audio Engineer Paul Blakemore) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Luck-Complet-Jimmy-Reed/dp/B072HTKR4F?crid=2F98MCEOBZ5O6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rSZtD3Oiou5s2dA_82c6Xw.etEpZiSMcTt2IvjbVaOG54GsPIeEtvfozY20P0h_HGc&dib_tag=se&keywords=888072024878&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729935164&sprefix=888072024878%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=75d0ea7f49583d31119d50619b602d70&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Content **** to *****

Presentation ****

Audio *****

"…Big Boss Man…"

Across this three-disc 88-Track bruiser there are eleven Introduction segments where in an interview with the great Jimmy Reed in 1965 – he mumbles and talks about his most famous grooves – most of which (like say Fat Domino) are all the same (he rarely varied a winning combo). But what you really notice are his sense of humour and that he's two-sheets to the wind. 

Matcher (or Mathis) James Reed was born in Leland, Mississippi in September 1925 and of all the Chicago Blues Men with an Electric Guitar who gravitated to that hallowed city in the 40ts and 50ts – Jimmy Reed was probably least likely to succeed and always struggled with alcohol. And yet one look at the Billboard Rhythm and Blues charts of the USA and you will see that Reed and his down-and-dirty warble and chugging beat charted a whomping 20-times between 1955 and 1966 – 19 of those on the independent record label set up by record-shop-owning husband and wife team Vivien Carter and Jimmy Bracken – the V and the J in Vee Jay Records. Seven of them went Top 10 too – three peaking at No.3.

And that's where this beautifully Remastered threesome from Craft comes a-boogieing in. I make no bones (in 2024) about chasing down all things Craft Recordings - I've been besieging our current account to this effect of late where managers are sending round the thought police as a matter on urgent intervention. Craft Recordings is out of the USA and are mostly associated with Stax Records and gorgeous reissues for Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Stax '68, WattStax gigs in 1972 and those four huge Stax Singles Box Sets with eleven or twelve CDs in them (reviewed the lot). 

But they are also heavily involved in Blues and Jazz on both audiophile sounding CDs and VINYL LPs. John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Skip James, Lightnin' Hopkins and Johnnie Taylor are just some of the names that have had long-lost and forgotten albums of the Sixties reissued in 2024 with PAUL BLAKEMORE Remastering – the Grammy-winner responsible for the audio here.

There is a lot of the Big Boss Man to discuss. To the Brights Lights and Big City…

EU released August 2017 - "Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee Jay Singles" by JIMMY REED on Craft Recordings/Vee-Jay/Universal Music Group 
0888072024878 (Barcode 888072024878) is a 3CD 88-Track Compilation Collated by SCOTT BILLINGTON and Mastered by PAUL BLAKEMORE (both Grammy winners) that plays out as follows:

CD1 (13 x US 45s – 5 with 1965 Interview Introductions, 76:49 minutes):
1. High And Lonesome (Introduction)
2. High And Lonesome 
3. Roll And Rhumba 
July 1953, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-100, A&B-sides as Jimmy Reed and His Trio

4. Jimmy's Boogie (aka Jimmies Boogie)
5. Found My Baby Gone (aka I Found My Baby)
January 1954, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 105, A& B-sides

6. You Don't Have To Go (Introduction)
7. You Don't Have To Go
8. Boogie In The Dark
December 1954, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-119, A&B-sides – peaked No.5 R&B

9. I'm Gonna Ruin You
10. Pretty Thing
January 1955, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 132, A&B-sides (reissued April 1955)

11. She Don't Want Me No More
12. I Don't Go For That
September 1955, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 153, A&B-sides (Tracks 12 and 11) – peaked No. 12 R&B

13. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby (Introduction)
14. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
15. Baby, Don't Say That No More
January 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-168, A&B-sides – peaked No.3 R&B

16. Can't Stand To See You Go
17. Rockin' With Reed
April 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 186, A&B-sides – peaked No.10 R&B

18. My First Plea
19. I Love You Baby
July 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 203, A&B-sides (Tracks 19 and 18) – peaked at No.13 R&B

20. You've Got Me Dizzy (Introduction)
21. You've Got Me Dizzy
22. Honey, Don't Let Me Go
November 1956, US 45-single on Vee Jay 226, A&B-sides – peaked No.3 R&B

23. Little Rain
24. Honey, Where You Going?
March 1957, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-237, A&B-sides – A-side peaked No.2, B-side peaked No.10 R&B

25. The Sun Is Shining
26. Baby, What's On Your Mind?
June 1957, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 248, A&B-sides – peaked No.10 R&B

27. Honest I Do (Introduction)
28. Honest I Do
29. Signals Of Love
August 1957, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 253, A&B-sides – peaked No.4 R&B

30. You're Something Else
31. A String To Your Heart
January 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 270, A&B-sides

CD2 (13 x US 45-singles – 4 with 1965 Interview Introductions, 70:21 minutes):
1. Go On To School
2. You Got Me Crying
April 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 275, A&B-sides (Tracks 2 and 1)

3. I Know It's A Sin
4. Down In Georgia
July 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 287, A& B-sides (Tracks 4 and 3)

5. I'm Gonna Get My Baby
6. Odds And Ends
October 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 298, A&B-sides – peaked at No.5 R&B

7. I Told You Baby
8. Ends And Odds
December 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 304, A&B-sides – peaked at No.19 R&B

9. Take Out Some Insurance
10. You Know I Love You 
April 1959, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 314, A&B-sides

11. Going To New York (Introduction)
12. Going To New York
13. I Wanna Be Loved 
September 1959, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 326, A&B-sides (Tracks 13 and 12)

14. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Introduction)
15. Baby What You Want Me to Do
16. Caress Me Baby
November 1959, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 333, A&B-sides – peaked at No.10 R&B

17. I Found Love
18. Where Can You Be
May 1960, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 347, A&B-sides – peaked at No.16 R&B

19. Hush Hush
20. Going By The River (Part II)
August 1960, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 357, A&B-sides – peaked at No.18 R&B

21. Close Together
22. Laughing At The Blues
January 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 373, A&B-sides – peaked at No.12 R&B

23. Big Boss Man (Introduction)
24. Big Boss Man
25. I'm A Love You

March 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 380, A&B-sides – peaked at No.13 R&B, No.38 Pop Hit for Elvis Presley in 1967

26. Bright Lights, Big City (Introduction)
27. Bright Lights, Big City
28. I'm Mr. Luck
August 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 398, A&B-sides – peaked at No.3 R&B

29. Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth
30. Baby, What's Wrong?
December 1961, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 425, A&B-sides (Tracks 30 and 29)

CD3 (13 x US 45-singles – 2 with 1965 Interview Introductions, 72:33 minutes):
1. Good Lover
2. Tell Me You Love Me
May 1962, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 459, A&B-sides

3. I'll Change My Style
4. Too Much
July 1958, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 287, A& B-sides

5. Let's Get Together
6. Oh John
November 1962, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 473, A&B-sides

7. Shame, Shame, Shame (Introduction)
8. Shame, Shame, Shame 
9. There'll Be A Day
March 1963, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 509, A&B-sides

10. Mary-Mary
11. I'm Gonna Help You
August 1963, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 552, A&B-sides

12. Out Skirts Of Town
13. St. Louis Blues 
November 1963, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 570, A&B-sides

14. See See Rider
15. We Wee Baby Blues
March 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 584, A&B-sides

16. Help Yourself
17. Heading For A Fall (Things Ain't What They Used To Be)
April 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 593, A&B-sides (probably unreleased)

18. Down In Mississippi
August 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-616, A-side (only)
NOTE: Oh John (Track 6) re-used as the B-side on Vee Jay VJ-616

19. I'm Going Upside Your Head (Introduction)
20. I'm Going Upside Your Head
21. The Devil's Shoestring (Part II)
October 1964, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 622, A&B-sides

22. I Wanna Be Loved
23. A New Leaf
January 1965, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 642, A&B-sides – New Leaf peaked at No.35 R&B

24. Left Handed Woman
25. I'm The Man Down There
August 1965, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-702, A&B-sides (Tracks 25 and 24)

26. When Girls Do It
27. Don't Think I'm Through
December 1965, US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ-709, A&B-sides

The outer card slipcase usually comes with a Details Sticker housing a three-way fold-out Digipak. It's nice but hardly startling – the 40-page booklet however is a truly in-depth affair. Every session is broken down by players, recording dates and so on. Entitled THE SONGS - after each discography entry is a paragraph detailing the song's history, chart success and his great session players who included musicians like Guitarists John Brim, Eddie Taylor, John Littlejohn, Remo Biondi, Lefty Bates, Lonnie Brooks and Hubert Sumlin, Vocalist Mama Reed, Chess Records Bassist and Songwriter Willie Dixon, Bassists Phil Upchurch and Marcus Johnson with Drummers Earl Phillips, Vernell Fournier and a young Albert Nelson (Albert King the Guitarist) on Drums. 

Jimmy played Carnegie Hall alongside Muddy Waters in the 60ts – his most famous song "Big Boss Man" (recorded March 1960) had Chess writing and playing giant Willie Dixon on his famous Double Bass with Lefty Bates and Lonnie Brooks on Guitars and Mama Reed sharing backing vocals. Jimmy of course took lead vocals and played his Guitar and Harmonica. The endless pages of Discography have trade adverts, chart lists and gig posters sepia-tinted into the background but that is something of a mistake because they are hard to see. SCOTT BILLINGTON has genuine enthusiasm for Reed – affection in his every entry – and it is a pleasure to read. 

As you can imagine, over 75 songs in roughly the same groove can be a bit much to take in one bilge – but what I love is the PAUL BLAKEMORE Remastered AUDIO. Although recordings were at times rough (especially on CD1 which deals with the Fifties) – Craft have done a fantastic job with the Transfers – full of life-affirming boogie. His explanations of how his wife was the principal inspiration for everything (she would sit by the stage and prompt lyrics during notorious inebriated shows) – even thoughts of what it would be like if she up and walked out – his "Shame, Shame, Shame" the result. By the time you get to CD3 and the 60ts and the instruments are wailing in your living room. Fab…

Highlights for me include cool flipsides like "I Don't Go For That" (CD1), "You Know I Love You" (CD2) and "There'll Be A Day" (CD3). You can also hear how tight his band was in the Fifties – Eddie Taylor on Guitar with Earl Phillips on Drums – love that Slide Guitar by John Littlejohn on "Boogie In The Dark" – same track with a young Albert Nelson on Drums soon to become "Born Under A Bad Sign" ace axeman Albert King on Stax in the mid Sixties. "Baby What You Want Me To Do" has Marcus Johnson on Electric Bass with Mama Reed providing Back Up Vocal Pipes. Jimmy assures his lady that she needs a real good lover and the Jimster is the man for the demanding job in "Good Lover". Speaking of Good Lovers - future Blue Thumb Records Jazz-Funk Guitarist Phil Upchurch plays axe on "Where Can You Be" and "Hush Hush" whilst providing Electric Bass on the aforementioned "Good Lover" plus "Too Much". Hubert Sumlin plays Guitar on "I Wanna Be Loved", "Left-Handed Woman" and "A New Leaf" – his last R&B chart entry for Vee Jay in January 1965. 

Most would probably want to cherry pick the best twofer singles on this three-disc Anthology and sequence them onto a Playlist CD-R for home enjoyment – or even the 20 R&B chart entries in a row (Jimmy Reed passed in 1976 whilst gigging in San Francisco). 

Whatever way you play it - "Mr. Luck: The Complete Vee Jay Singles" by JIMMY REED on Craft Recordings is a compilation I will be returning too with a smile on my face. It is not gorgeous – the booklet could have done with more photos and memorabilia repro stuff – but man oh man – that Audio, those often witty lyrics, the drunken grooves with Guitar, Harmonica and his world-weary slush-voice – Big Boss Man indeed…

"Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Music and Car/Drag-Racing Sound Effects Spanning 1946 to 1998 - Including The Duals, Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, Chuck Berry, Jan & Dean, Robert Mitchum, Dinah Shore, The Rip-Chords, The Beach Boys, Dick Dale, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Howlin Wolf, Albert King, Nervous Norvus, Canned Heat, The Doobie Brothers, Golden Earring, Dave Edmunds, War, The Ramones, The B-52s, George Thorogood, John Hiatt, The Green Hornets and many more (March 1999 US Rhino 87-Track 4CD Brick-Shaped Lift-Top Box Set with Booklet, Mooneyes Themed Car Catalogue, Key Chain, A Sheet of Window Clinging Decals and a Pair of Hanging Rearview-Mirror Furry Dice – Bob Fisher Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hot-Rods-Custom-Classics-Various/dp/B00000I5M0?crid=PXVP7S2HOC98&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-tuc_L4uzuXbw9pvCrIYmg.nvE64ydUcKI0j81r4e2bCs_yb31lODocJ7ZPrs3OetE&dib_tag=se&keywords=081227568825&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1729724888&sprefix=081227568825%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=662c7ffbd47ad7a36d5014a47061ef23&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS:

Overall ****

Audio **** to *****

Presentation *****

"…Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits…"

I have loved and frankly adored at the altar of Rhino Box Sets, and back in the Nineties day when they were big-time active, they regularly came out with groundbreaking fun compilations like this forgotten car-themed gem. I still rate their zany and thorough efforts as the best fun-and-audio discovery tomes ever issued across a swathe of genre splurges.

"Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" digs the automobile in music - here we get muscle cars and dragsters and Cadillacs and Lincoln Continentals and Pontiacs and frankly anything to do with pistons, fuel-injected carburettors and Polly the Molly sat in an opentop back seat with a cold beer bottle in hand and her tomboy hair in the wind. As you can imagine, there will be skidding and revving of a frankly lascivious hairy-chested-nature and undeniable references to shifting sticks that may or may not have to do with urgent speedometers and liquid transmissions (if you dig my brake fluid).

This hunk of 4CD burning love was first issued Stateside in March 1999 and its packaging alone – a cause for celebration. It has music and sound effects spanning 1946 to 1998 (87 Tracks, most are Music), a 66-Page Booklet crammed with genre themes and essays and Mooneyes-Themed Surf and Drag Car Racing Memorabilia – a Mooneyes Catalogue, Key Chain, A Sheet of Window Clinging Decals and a Pair of Hanging Rearview-Mirror Furry Dice. Yes – you read right – a pair of actual furry dice inset into the inner box! Even the sides of the boxes have reproduced fantastically evocative newspaper and magazine adverts from the Fifties and Sixties selling Conversion Kits, Magnesium Engine Adapters, White Wall Tyres and Torque Wrenches. Time to ride baby – details Daddy-O!

US released 16 March 1999 - "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Rhino R2 75688 (Barcode 081227568825) is a 4CD 87-Track Brick-Shaped Lift-Top Box Set. It has music and sound effects spanning 1946 to 1998, a 66-Page Booklet and Mooneyes-Themed Surf and Drag Car Racing Memorabilia (Mooneyes Catalogue, Key Chain, A Sheet of Window Clinging Decals and a Pair of Hanging Rearview-Mirror Furry Dice). It plays outs as follows:

CD1 (56:04 minutes):
1. New Car Attitude
2. Action Packed – RONNIE DEE (November 1958 US 45-single on Back Beat 522, A-side)
3. Stick Shift – THE DUALS (June 1961 US 45-single on Sue 745, A-side)
4. Hot Rod Man – TEX RUBINOWITZ (February 1980 US 45-single on Ripsaw 214, A-side)
5. Hot Rod Gang – STRAY CATS (from the August 1983 US LP "Rant N' Rave With The Stray Cats" on EMI America SO-17012)
6. Cruisin' – GENE VINCENT And HIS BLUE CAPS (from the March 1957 US LP "Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps" on Capitol T-811 in Mono)
7. Radar Love – GOLDEN EARRING (April 1974 US 45-single on MCA Records MCA-40202, A-side, 5:01 minute version. Note: the UK 45-single was issued November 1973 on Track 2094 116 and has a shorter version; the LP cut on the 1973 "Moon Tan" UK album is also longer than both the US and UK singles)
8. Mercury Blues – DAVID LINDLEY (from the 1981 US LP "E Rayo-X" on Elektra Records 5E-524)
9. Maybelline – CHUCK BERRY & His Combo (July 1955 US Debut 45-single on Chess 1604, A-side)
10. The Ballad Of Thunder Road – ROBERT MITCHUM (May 1958 US 45-single on Capitol F3986, A-side)
11. Forty Miles Of Bad Road – DUANE EDDY And THE REBELS (May 1959 US 45-single on Jamie 1126, A-side)
12. SS 396 – PAUL REVERE And THE RAIDERS (January 1967 US Split 45-single on Columbia Special Products CSM 466. Was the B-side to The Cyrkle doing "Camaro" on the A-side. The single was specially commissioned by Chevrolet and given to dealers)
13. See The U.S.A. In Your Chevrolet – DINAH SHORE (Advertising song for the 1956 US TV Series Chevrolet Hour)
14. Little Deuce Coup – THE BEACH BOYS (July 1963 US 45-single on Capitol 5002, B-side of "Surfer Girl")
15. Hot Rod – THE COLLINS KIDS (Unissued 1957 recording first released 1982 on the US 2LP compilation "Rockabilly Stars, Volume 3" on Epic Records EG 37984)
16. Mr. Highway Man (Cadillac Daddy) – HOWLIN' WOLF (April 1952 US 78 on Chess 1510, B-side of "Gettin' Old And Grey")
17. Lost Highway – HANK WILLIAMS With His Drifting Cowboys (September 1949 US 78 on MGM 10506, B-side of "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)")
18. Highway Patrol – JUNIOR BROWN (August 1995 US 45-single on MCG/Curb Records D7-76953, A-side)
19. Heavy Traffic Ahead – BILL MONROE And His BLUE GRASS BOYS (July 1949 US 78 on Mercury 20595, A-side)
20. Radar – MR. BEAR & HIS BEARCATS (1955 US 45-single on Groove 0150, A-side)
21. Motor Head Baby – JOHNNY "Guitar" WATSON credited at YOUNG JOHN WATSON (June 1953 US 78 on Federal 12131, A-side)
22. Led Sled – DENNY FREEMAN (from the 1986 US LP "Blues Cruise" on Amazing Records AM 1009)
23. Rev Off – Steve Wertheimer's 1951 Mercury Custom & Mike Young's 1960 Chevrolet "Exotica" Impala - Recorded at Dave's Precision Automotive, Austin, Texas on 23 October 1998 – Plus a Radio Advert for a 60ts Green Valley Raceway meet on a Wednesday night (between Dallas and Fort Worth) – unannounced and attached at the end of Track 23

CD2 (69:21 minutes):
1. Rocking Down The Highway – THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (November 1972 US 45-single on Warner Brothers WB 7661, B-side of "Jesus Is Just Alright")
2. Hey Little Cobra – THE RIP CHORDS (November 1963 US 45-single on Columbia 4-42921, A-side)
3. Hot Rod Queen – DEKE DICKERSON & THE ECCO-FONICS (from the 1998 CD Album "Number One Hit Record!" on HMG 3005))
4. Hot Rod Lincoln – JOHNNY BOND (June 1960 US 45-single on Republic 2005, A-side)
5. Hot Rod Race - RAMBLIN' JIMMIE DOLAN (June 1951 US 45-single on Capitol 1322, A-side)
6. Drag Race (excerpt from the 1960 Motion Picture "High School Caesar")
7. Draggin' – CURTIS GORDON (April 1956 US 45-single on Mercury 70861 X 45, A-side) 
8. Dragster – JOHNNY FORTUNE (November 1963 US 45-single on Park Avenue PA-130, B-side of "Siboney")
9. Race With The Devil – GENE VINCENT & HIS BLUE CAPS (August 1956 US 45-single on Capitol F3530, A-side)
10. Devil In My Car – THE B-52's (from the August 1980 US Album "Wild Planet" on Warner Brothers BSK 3471)
11. Ride On Josephine – GEORGE THOROGOOD & THE DESTROYERS (from the September 1977 US Debut Album "George Thorogood & The Destroyers" on Rounder 3013)
12. Rocket "88" – JACKIE BRENSTON & HIS DELTA CATS (1956 US 45-single on Chess 1458, A-side)
13. Key To The Highway – LITTLE WALTER & HIS JUKES (September 1958 US 45-single on Checker 904, A-side)
14. Low Rider – WAR (August 1975 US 45-single on United Artists UA-XW706-Y, A-side)
15. Whitter Blvd. – THEE MIDNITERS (June 1965 US 45-single on Chattahoochie CH-684, A-side)
16. Every Woman I Know – BILLY "The Kid" EMERSON (January 1957 US 45-single on Vee Jay VJ 219, B-side of "Tomorrow Never Comes")
17. One Piece At A Time JOHNNY CASH & THE TENNESSEE THREE (March 1976 US 45-single on Columbia 3-10321, A-side)
18. Cadillac Assembly Line (January 1976 US 45-single on Utopia UB-10544, A-side)
19. I Want A Lavender Cadillac - MAURICE KING & HIS WOLVERINES (June 1951 US 45-single on 4-6800, A-side)
20. Bring My Cadillac Back – BAKER KNIGHT And THE KNIGHTMARES (November 1956 US 45-single on Decca 9-30135, A-side)
21. Pink Cadillac – SAMMY MASTERS & HIS ROCKING RHYTHM (April 1956 US 45-single on 4-Star 1695-45, A-side)
22. Transfusion – NERVOUS NORVUS (May 1956 US 45-single on Dot 45-14570, A-side)
23. Crawling From The Wreckage – DAVE EDMUNDS (from the July 1979 US album "Repeat When Necessary" on Swan Song SS 8507)
24. Dead Man's Curve – JAN & DEAN (February 1964 US 45 on Liberty 55672, A-side)
25. James Dean 1955 Interview (from the 1993 video to "Rebel Without A Cause") – unannounced and uncredited "Signal Mid Ethyl Gas" advert from the 60ts is attached at the end of Track 25

CD3 (51:55 minutes):
1. Let's Go For A Ride – THE COLLEGIANS (1957 US 45-single on X-Tra 108, A-side)
2. On The Road Again – CANNED HEAT (April 1968 US 45-single on Liberty 56038, A-side)
3. Drive South – JOHN HIATT (from the 1988 US album "Slow Turning" on A&M Records SP 5026)
4. I Gotta A New Car – BIG BOY GRAVES and Band (May 1955 US 45-single on Spark 114, A-side)
5. No Money Down – CHUCK BERRY & His Combo (January 1956 US 45-single on Chess 1615, A-side)
6. Dear Dad – DAVE EDMUNDS (from the April 1982 US album "D.E. 7th" on Columbia PC 37930)
7. Little Forty Four – LEON SMITH With The Ponsonby Sisters (July 1959 US 45-single on Epic 5-9326)
8. '41 Ford – THE GRAND PRIX (October 1963 US 45-single on Vault V-906, B-side of "Candy Apple Buggy")
9. '64 Ford – PHRANC (from the 1991 US album "Positively Phranc" on Island 848282)
10. Stolen Car – THE GREEN HORNETS (from the 1996 album "The Buzz" on Alopecia! 008)
11. 60 Lil' Camaro Go – RAMONES (from the 1987 US album "Halfway To Sanity" on Sire 25641)
12. Road Runner – BO DIDDLEY (January 1960 US 45-single on Checker 942, A-side)
13. Beep Beep – THE PLAYMATES (October 1958 US 45-single on Roulette R-4115, A-side)
14. Black & White Thunderbird – THE DELICATES (June 1959 US 45-single on Unart UR 2017, B-side of "Ronnie Is My Lover")
15. Pink Thunderbird – GENE VINCENT & HIS BLUE CAPS (from the March 1957 US LP "Gene Vincent And His Blue Caps" on Capitol T-811 in Mono)
16. '54 Corvette – THE CUSTOMS featuring Gary Usher (from the 1963 US LP "Hot Rod City" on Vault 104)
17. Sting Ray – THE ROUTERS (March 1963 US 45-single on Warner Brothers 5349, A-side)
18. Route 66 Theme – NELSON RIDDLE (April 1962 US 45-single on Capitol 4741, A-side)
19. Gas Money – JAN & ARNIE with Adam Ross (July 1958 US 45-single on Arwin MM-111-45, A-side)
20. Gasoline Alley – ROD STEWART (from the June 1970 US album "Gasoline Alley" on Mercury SR-61264) – includes added on Unannounced 60ts Advert for "Speedway Gas" attached to the end of the song

CD4 (50:06 minutes):

1. Mustang Sally - WILSON PICKETT (November 1966 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2365, A-side)

2. Hopped-Up Mustang - ARLEN SANDERS And The Pacifics (June 1964 US 45-single on Faro 616, B-side of "A Letter To Paul")

3. Wild, Wild Mustang - DICK DALE (& HIS DEL-TONES) (May 1964 US 45-single on Capitol 5187, A-side)

4. 409 - THE QUADS (from the 1963 US LP "Hot Rod City" on Vault 104)

5. Automobiles - THE SPANIELS (Unreleased 1959 recording first issued on the 1993 US CD-compilation "Heart & Soul Volume 2" on Vee-Jay NVD2714)

6. V-8 Ford Blues - MOSE ALLISON (from the 1962 US LP "Takes To The Hills" on Epic BA 17031 in Stereo)

7. Pontiac Blues - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON (November 1951 US 78 on Trumpet No. 145, B-side of "Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues")

8. G.T.O - RONNY & THE DAYTONA'S (June 1964 US 45-single on Mala 481, A-side)

9. Go Go G.T.O - CAROL And CHERYL (February 1965 US 45-single on Colpix CP-767, A-side)

10. Bite Bite Barracuda - BUDDY RANDELL & THE KNICKERBOCKERS (November 1964 US 45-single on Challenge 59268, B-side of "All I Need Is You")

11. Ford V-8 - HONEY BOY ALLEN (Unreleased 1958 Excello Recording first issued on the 1985 UK LP compilation "Rock Me All Night Long: Unissued 1950s R&B from Louisiana – The Legendary Jay Miller Sessions Volume 41" on Flyright Records FLY 606)

12. No Particular Place To Go - CHUCK BERRY (May 1964 US 45-single on Chess 1898, A-side)

13. Four In The Floor - THE SHUT DOWNS (August 1963 US 45-single on Dimensions D 1016, A-side)

14. Big Green Car – BILLY CARROLL (1958 US 45-single on Fascination 2000, A-side)

15. Spark Plug - FOUR TEENS (August 1958 US 45-single on Challenge 59021, B-side of "Go Little Cat Go"

16. Buick 59 - THE MEDALLIONS (August 1954 US 45-single on DooTone 347, A-side) 

17. Freeway - THE FUGITIVES (October 1960 US 45-single on Arvee A 5014, A-side)

18. Two Lane Highway - PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE (June 1975 US 45-single on RCA Victor PB-10302, A-side)

19. Six Days On The Road - DAVE DUDLEY (April 1963 US 45-single on Golden Wing GW3020, A-side)

20. Wheels - THE FLYING BURRITO BROS. (from the February 1969 US Debut LP "The Gilded Palace Of Sin" on A&M Records SP-4175) - Plus an attached and uncredited spoken Sharp 1956 Automobile Advert about a Hot Rod having its wheels serviced

The 66-page booklet is a major departure for Rhino in some ways in that it doesn't show a single 45-repro label nor LP nor musical act nor sheet music nor trade advert anywhere in its 66-pages – it is all vintage cars and dragsters. Not even the four Digipaks containing the CDs (front or rear) pay a nod towards the music contained within – again all of them with paintings or pictures of famous chrome-infested machines (beneath each of the four see-through trays is a picture of a internal engine casing with juice-guzzling adaptations to their groaning manifolds).

While I appreciate going all out with the theme and the reproduction of famous articles on the subject matter - you can't help thinking that (music wise) say the picture sleeve for The Cyrkle/Paul Revere split 45 especially commissioned in 1967 by Chevrolet for car dealers might have been an obvious inclusion – the rare smiling-face picture sleeve for Chuck Berry's fabulous "No Particular Place to Go" (surely one of the great 'your car vs. frustrated love' songs ever). Or how about The Beach Boys or Jan and Dean atop Dune Buggies or in a Little Deuce Coup – Bobby Blue Bland standing proudly by his Driving Wheel - Batman in his phantasmagorical Bat Mobile etc - you could go on. Rhino also mistakenly credit Billy Carroll as Jimmy Carroll on the rare 1958 Rockabilly blast over on CD4 and get the Flying Burrito Bros LP catalogue number wrong on the last track of the set - but other than those puny errors...it's a gas gas gas…

Speaking of - I can't stress enough that this is a blast - a dip-and-dive box. "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" is great fun - reeking of compilers who enjoyed their job and went that country mile for your delectation - the Sheet of Decal Stickers - The Key Chain with Moon Eyes and of course - the Furry Dice you would hang from your Cools-Mobile. Speaking of Moon Eyes - Dean Moon built his Moon Equipment Company in the USA provided equipment parts and everything else for cars. The 'Mooneyes Surf & Drag' Catalogue therefore has adverts for tee-shirts with 50ts and 60ts period designs - Bonneville Sports - Engine Parts - Custom Accessories like tail-lights - skulls for gear sticks - speed equipment - grill and chrome emblems and so on. And then there are all the period adverts repro'd on the side of the brick block box when you lift off the lid (see second set of photos above) - you could be hours with a magnifying glass just trying to get through them - a bygone age. It's enough to blind you to the excellent BOB FISHER Remasters that stretch decades of car-mentions - uniformly good audio from 78s to 45s to LPs to CDs. 

CD1 opens with 21-seconds of advert dialogue "You finally get your own car, the chances are your parents still don’t understand why you needed it, but the freedom – you treat it good – real good!" That is followed by the wild 1958 teenage Rock and Roll on the uber-rare "Action Packed" by Ronnie Dee – you can hear his youth and excitement. And then we get a truly great tune – arguably the first genuinely cool instrumental prior to "Green Onions" in July 1962 - "Stick Shift" by The Duals. This Rockabilly Beat nugget had arrived a full year earlier in June 1961 complete with engine roar start and cop-car siren ending – a classy inclusion. It's at this point (same on all 4 CDs) that the time frames start to jump forward and back again – but it works. Next up is a fantastic slice of Rockabilly brilliance in the 1980-recorded "Hot Rod Man" by the wonderfully named Tex Rubinowitz – itself not surprisingly followed by The Stray Cats also doing that untamed beast in 1983. We’re back to Gene Vincent and then rather oddly on to 1973/1974 and Golden Earring giving it friend-e-lee and coming on strong with their fabulous "Radar Love" (it is the 5:02 minute cut out of the USA). 

But then again, the compilation whomps you with a gem you have completely forgotten – David Lindley getting all slide-guitar mayhem with his "Mercury Blues". What a nugget and clever inclusion. Natural to see Chuck Berry and his influence start on CD1 (his tunes crop up on the other discs too) – his lyrically savvy tunes full of liberating automobiles and teenage knowing. From the start of summer 1955 on Chess Records, "Maybelline" and all that followed started a revolution in the States and its influence reached over to Blighty for a whole generation of English kids not least of all were The Beatles and Stones. Bit of film melodrama and fun with Robert Mitchum sing-talking his way through a song about bootleggers in joe-jammers - "The Ballad of Thunder Road" full of hard-boiled characters old Hate-and-Love hands Mitchum no doubt relished playing. America is the greatest land of all, Dinah Shore sings jauntily like Doris Day on uppers in the Chevie advert while The Beach Boys and a surprisingly cool Collins Kids get cute with the ladies – soon as they get a Hot Rod. Heavy Blues comes at you in full-on recorded-in-a-bucket mode when Howlin Wolf comes a roaring into your speakers perfectly countered by Hank country-fiddle singing about paying the cost for a life of sin on the Lost Highway (we know how you feel Mr. Williams – all too bitterly). And on it goes to Sheriffs with itchy fingers in their cherry-tops – Bill Monroe caught in heavy traffic with his banjo – Mr. Bear caught doing 105 MPH by that new-fangled Radar – and Denny Freeman getting all B.B. King geetar on his SRV-sounding Led Sled.

Hot Dog Lincolns and Souped-Up Fords shift and shuffle and race with devils both inside and outside come CD2 – streets forty-foot wide – Mercury speeding but taken by a hopped-up Model A. Echo-laden Rockabilly comes hammering out of your speakers as Curtis Gordon drags Main St. all night long. Cool Agent/Spy type vibes on the screaming tyres and guitar-picking instrumental "Dragster" – kids living dangerously while Johnny Fortune twangs his geetar. Manic vocals of The B-52s followed by the Slide Guitar Boogie of George Thorogood makes for a good pairing – and what can you say about the utter brilliance of "Low Rider" by War – like "Radar Love" on CD1, it will be a track you reach for again and again no matter how many movies have used both to death. Your lady can play with your keys and shift your gears according to Billy "The Kid" Emerson (rubber heels are a no-no). Genius lyrics come at you aplenty with the forgotten Man In Black hit "One Piece At A Time". Funny and savvy as always – Johnny Cash slays it as he describes assembling a GM Cadillac by sneaking out parts across two decades only to find that upgrades over the years have done for the usability of his unique $100,000 car.

Speaking of period wit – two decades back we get slip the blood to me bud Nervous Norvus – talking through witty lyrics amidst car-crash sounds. No picture sleeve unfortunately repro'd for the Jan & Dean Liberty 45 from February 1964 – "Dead Man's Curve" – and I cannot get enough of Dave Edmunds who gets the first of two appearances on this Box Set with his fab "Crawling From The Wreckage" (driving like a nut in the rain – taking out his revenge on the revolution counter). The final track is a 2-minute interview with James Dean about cars and car-racing – his supposedly sincere comments about safety are so damn ominous with what happened to him. But stick around also for an unannounced "Signal Gas" advert attached afterwards (Track 25) where nice chaps tell you that you no longer have to just use Regular or Premium Gas, because now at a third pump you can get Mid Ethyl Gasoline and go farther!

CD3 opens with an uber-rare 1958 R&B Vocal Group 45 by The Collegians asking all suckers to "Let's Go For A Ride". That is followed by the familiar whining vocals of Bob Hite in his Canned Heat doing the ever-popular "On The Road Again" – a huge hit for the Blues Rockers in 1968. Stunning inclusions ahoy with a clever switch up to John Hiatt asking his baby to "Drive South" (on his 1988 "Slow Turning" album) – telling her that will not need too many clothes because it gets hot where they’re going. A slew of clever lyrics follow starting with R&B man Big Boy Groves bemoaning his wallet because "I Gotta A New Car" (Soup and Tooth Picks not a good meal), while Chuck Berry lists his requirements in fabulous period detail for his new car with "No Money Down". But best of all is another gotta-get-rid-of the crappy old Ford song by Chuck Berry but this time done by Dave Edmunds – his fantastic bopping "Dear Dad" done in 1982 – a son writing to Pops to plead his motor needs. 

Another obscure flipside comes in the shape of Leon Smith with The Ponsonby Sisters – his 1959 Epic 45 informing the populace on his "Little Forty Ford". Gotta love the girly longing in "64 Ford" – Phranc with that early crush glint in her eye. Punky garage comes in the shape of Taratino-cool Green Hornets getting organ-and-sax grungy as they channel their inner X-Ray Specs on their "Stolen Car". The Ramones and their Soul Brother Bo Diddley give us a Camaro 60 followed with a Road Runner. Lyrically similar, a little Nash Rambler determined to scorn a Cadillac in The Playmates witty "Beep Beep" turns out to be a Mojo in bother rather than competition. Cool instrumentals return with two in a row – The Routers giving us "Sting Ray" while Nelson Riddle decides to go all Secret Agent Lounge Lizard with his stringed-up piano-plinking finger-clicker "Route 66 Theme". 

Jan & Arnie may argue in the bedroom, but itchy Jan knows what he needs - "Gas Money" – come up with the dough baby. And CD3 ends with a nugget – and even if it feels stylistically slightly out of place – there is no denying the slide-guitar Ron Wood and Rod Stewart melody in the fab and still-touching "Gasoline Alley". Stay tuned to Track 20 as it plays for Rhino has sneaked in a hidden unannounced "Speedway Gas" sung commercial attached to the tail-light of the Rod Stewart song – an advert sung by good old boys about ethanol propylene or some such 60ts gizmo.

CD4 features a very 1963/1964 vibe cosied up to by boppin Fifties R&B and Vocal Groups – all Mustang Sallys and Souped-Up Fords and mouthy Pontiacs never mind your slippery G.T.Os and muscle-clad Ford V-8s. The mighty Wilson Pickett opens his ride-around account with the superb "Mustang Sally" while Arlen Sanders talks us through the performance of his clear-to-the-floor six-cylinder Mustang duetting with a Cadillac (music by The Pacifics) against a backdrop of engine bursts. Genius inclusion comes in the shape of the very Chuck Berry-sounding "Wild, Wild Mustang" – Dick Dale accompanying his Del-Tones in a tale of his King of the Road wheels. The Quads catch the surfing Beach Boys groove with their "409" – giddy-up ooh-ooh. Clever down shift to 50ts R&B Vocal Group sound – The Spaniels giving us the skinny on the kind of cars their girls like (all of them). 1962 LP Coolsville comes a finger-clicking in as Mose Allison goes all Georgie Fame Yeh Yeh (or is it the other way around) with his beautiful sounding "V-8 Ford". 

Way back to a 1951 ten-inch 78 sounding remarkably fresh as Sonny Boy Williamson gives it some of his trademark Harmonica (loving his Pontiac). Audio-leap as Ronny & The Daytona's sing the wah-wah praises of their little "G.T.O." which corners like a forward-leaning skier hugging that Olympic slope. Girly duo Carol and Cheryl combine their ah-schucks vocals for the 1:35 minute from 1965. Weedy boy vocals follow with "Bite Bite Barracuda" – serious channel separation on this bizarre track. Thankfully we're rescued by Honey Boy Allen giving it R&B guitar and harmonica on his crude but cooly rocking "Ford V-8" where he wants to show his baby the power steering (now now Mister Allen). But all of this is whomped goodo by Chuck Berry who comes charging (in glorious Stereo) into your mancave with the brill "No Particular Place To Go" (the safety belt wouldn't budge people). Stunning  audio on the kick-ass instrumental "Four To The Floor" by The Shut Downs – a rip-roaring guitar beat set against a backdrop of screaming engines – feels like The Shadows found the dark side of The Force and let it rip. 

"…Hey Man! Did you see that doll in the big green car!" announces Bobby Carroll on his tremendous Rockabilly romp "Big Green Car". The same geetar menace permeates every sinew of "Spark Plug" by Four Teens – our lead singer just looking for some love – hot seat preferred (another smart inclusion). Fats Domino-style piano-rolling makes a very welcome appearance with The Medallions as they sing the virtues of their Vocal group lady-wagon - "Buick 59" – the lead-singer eventually going all Screaming Jaw Hawkins lecherous as he makes sound effects that mimic car shenanigans. I have never heard The Fugitives and their "Freeway" but it's very cool – a Saxophone and Piano instrumental bopper that gets louder as it progresses – expect it in a TV episode some time soon. 

A strange and slightly jarring leap to the audio perfection of 1975 and the Pure Prairie League giving it some Outlaws vs. The Doobie Brothers Country Rock with their "Two Lane Highway" – good tune though. Rolling down the Eastern seaboard with Dave Dudley getting all 10-gears and little white pills keeping his eyelids open - "Six Days On The Road" dodging all the State scales on this great Rockabilly bopper. It comes sauntering home with The Flying Burrito Bros. and their "Wheels" with lyrics about cars taking them home – or away – or to freedom. Frankly CD4 could have done with more and a better ending. But dig that uncredited spoken Sharp 1956 Automobile Advert about a Hot Rod having its wheels serviced complete with dialogue to appeal to Teens!

So, there you have it – chammy in your back pocket and oil on your white teen-shirt like all good James Dean posers should. Feelin' the need for speed - the only way is the Freeway - want your Spark Plugs ignited - your fuel-head Buick bounced - your Rubber Rims burnt - or your Chevie chassis discombobulated (oh dear, sounds painful) - then look no further my grease monkeys of yesteryear and bikers of oblivion - because Rhino's 1999 Box Set "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" is the old-school gearbox you need...

I know 1999's "Hot Rods & Custom Classics: Cruisin' Songs & Highway Hits" is not all genius – but I love it – and cherish owning such a Rhino Box Set - Go Daddy Go!