"Chess Rhythm & Roll" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Ninety-Nine Tracks from 1947 to 1968 by Roscoe Gordon, Willie Mabon, Jackie Brenston, The Moonglows, Bo Diddley, The Flamingos, Chuck Berry, Bobby Charles, Earl Hooker, Clarence Frogman Henry, Dale Hawkins, The Corsairs, Sugar Pie DeSanto, The Tune Weavers, Tommy Tucker, Little Milton, Fontella Bass and more (January 1994 US MCA/Chess 4CD 101-Track Long Box Set of Erick Labson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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Following on from MCA's 4CD "Chess Blues" Box Set in 1993 - this January 1994 US-only complimentary 4CD Box Set seems to have slipped through the net - because for my money it's one of the best box sets of its type and somehow criminally ignored. It includes 99 tunes from 1947 up to 1968 so encompasses Blues, R&B, Soul, Funk, Mod dancers, New Breed and so forth.

Here's a basic breakdown for "Chess Rhythm & Roll" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on MCA/Chess CHD4-9352 (Barcode 076732935224)…

Disc 1, 1947-1955, 25 Tracks, 68:52 minutes:
1. Chicago Boogie - THE FIVE BLAZES
2. Boogie Woogie Blues – CLARENCE SAMUELS 
3. Hey Jack – THE DOZIER BOYS – Previously Unreleased
4. Little Boy, Little Boy – EARL & HIS BLUE ROCKETS 
5. Rocket 88 – JACKIE BRENSTON & HIS DELTA CATS
6. Booted – ROSCO GORDON 
7. Leo The Louse – JACKIE BRENSTON
8. Mumbles Blues – BOBBY LEWIS
9. I Don't Know – WILLIE MABON
10. Roll 'Em – MITZI MARS
11. Train, Train, Train – DANNY OVERBEA
12. Jock-A-Mo – JAMES "SUGAR BOY" CRAWFORD 
13. Should I – THE CORONETS – Previously Unreleased
14. Wine, Wine, Wine – JIMMY BLINKEY & HIS ORCHESTRA 
15. I'm A Young Rooster – LEON D. TRAVER & THE CHORDONES 
16. Darling I Know – THE EL-RAYS
17. Will You Be Mine – NAT KENDRICK & THE SWANS – Previously Unreleased
18. That Man Is Walking – LARRY LIGGETT
19. Love Your Lovin' Way – THE DAPS – Previously Unreleased
20. Sincerely – THE MOONGLOWS
21. Bo Diddley – BO DIDDLEY 
22. Need Your Love (Alternate) – THE FLAMINGOS – Previously Unreleased
23. Maybelline –CHUCK BERRY 
24. No One – THE MOONGLOWS - Previously Unreleased
25. If You Love Me, Tell Me So – PAUL GAYTEN 
Tracks 3, 13, 17, 19, 22 and 24 are Previously Unreleased

Disc 2, 1955-1957, 25 Tracks, 61:47 minutes:
1. See You Later Alligator – BOBBY CHARLES
2. 64,000 Question – BOBBY TUGGLE
3. I'll Be Home – THE FLAMINGOS
4. Heavyweight Baby – BULLMOOSE JACKSON & HIS BUFFALO BEARCATS – Previously Unreleased
5. Too Much Monkey Business – CHUCK BERRY 
6. Who Do You Love – BO DIDDLEY
7. Frog Hop – EARL HOOKER 
8. Country Girl – FOUR TOPS – Previously Unreleased
9. See-Saw – THE MOONGLOWS 
10. Four O'Clock In The Morning – STANLEY MITCHELL & THE TORNADOS 
11. Laura Lee – BOBBY CHARLES 
12. Ain't Got No Home – CLARENCE "FROGMAN" HENRY 
13. The Big Wheel – CLIFTON CHENIER
14. Been So Long – THE PASTELS 
15. School Day – CHUCK BERRY
16. Over The Mountain, Across The Sea – JOHNNIE & JOE
17. Lucky You – JODY WILLIAMS 
18. Happy, Happy Birthday Baby – THE TUNE WEAVERS 
19. Suzie Q – DALE HAWKINS
20. Lady With The Hat Box – CLARENCE "FROGMAN" HENRY – Previously Unreleased
21. Nervous Boogie – PAUL GAYTEN 
22. Crazy Love – DICK GLASSER 
23. Walk That Walk – EDDIE BO
24. Flatfoot Sam – T.V. SLIM AND HIS BLUESMEN 
25. Teardrops – LEE ANDREWS & THE HEARTS 
Tracks 4, 8 and 20 are Previously Unreleased

Disc 3, 1957-1959, 25 Tracks, 65:45 minutes:
1. Look Out Mabel – G. L. CROCKETT
2. Book Of Love – THE MOONTONES 
3. Mr. Big Wheel – JIMMY NELSON – Previously Unreleased
4. Nothin's Shakin' – EDDIE FONTAINE 
5. Johnny B. Goode – CHUCK BERRY
6. Say Man – BO DIDDLEY
7. Everybody Rock – JIMMY McCRACKLIN 
8. I Found My Girl – THE KENTS 
9. I'm So Young – THE STUDENTS 
10. I Love You So (First Version) – BO DIDDLEY – Previously Unreleased
11. You Got Me Whistlin' – JOHNNY FULLER 
12. Lazy Susan – THE BROTHERS 
13. La-Do-Dada – DALE HAWKINS 
14. Do You Love Me – CHUCK BERRY
15. Sugaree – RUSTY YORK
16. What Do You Know About Love – BO DIDDLEY
17. I Want To Know – SUGAR PIE DeSANTO
18. Anna Macora – OSCAR BOYD & THE CALVAES 
19. This Broken Heart – VANCE CHARLES & THE SONICS 
20. Um Huh My Baby – BILLY EMERSON
21. This Heart Of Mine – THE FALCONS
22. Goin' Back To Memphis – GENE SIMMONS 
23. This Should Go On Forever – ROD BERNARD and THE TWISTERS 
24. Let It Rock – CHUCK BERRY 
25. All I Want Is You – THE MIRACLES
Tracks 3 and 10 are Previously Unreleased 

Disc 4, 1960-1967, 24 Tracks, 64:58 minutes:
1. At Last – ETTA JAMES 
2. I Need Your Love – L.C. COOKE – Previously Unreleased
3. My Heart Cries – ETTA & HARVEY 
4. Let Me In – OTTO & THE SENSATIONS 
5. Saving My Love For You – LITTLE MILTON
6. Peanut Butter – THE MARATHONS 
7. You're Mine – (TONY JACKSON &) THE VIBRATIONS – Previously Unreleased
8. Smokey Places – THE CORSAIRS 
9. Your Skies Of Blue – THE TUNE WEAVERS 
10. Reap What You Sow – BILLY STEWART
11. You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover – BO DIDDLEY 
12. Mama Don't Lie – JAN BRADLEY 
13. Got You On My Mind – COOKIE & HIS CUPCAKES 
14. High Heel Sneakers – TOMMY TUCKER 
15. That's What They Put Erasers On Pencils For – JERRY AND THE GEMS 
16. Sally Go 'Round The Roses – THE JAYNETTS 
17. No Particular Place To Go – CHUCK BERRY 
18. Goin' To The River – BILL & WILL 
19. Don't Mess Up A Good Thing – FONTELLA BASS & BOBBY McCLURE 
20. Who's Cheatin' Who – LITTLE MILTON 
21. Searching For My Love – BOBBY MOORE & THE RHYTHM ACES 
22. Maybelle Sings The Blues – BIG MAYBELLE 
23. O-O I Love You – THE DELLS 
24. Tell Mama – ETTA JAMES
Tracks 2 and 7 are Previously Unreleased

Of the 99 tracks -14 are previously unreleased (as noted above) - and even in 2014 with wads of Chess stuff in my possession - a large number of the rarities contained within are exclusive to this set. Hard to find songs by artists like PAUL GAYTEN, TV SLIM, JIMMY NELSON (lyrics above) and JUMPIN' GENE SIMMONS are all on here. The quality of the unreleased tracks too is shockingly good and of course there's early artistic genius everywhere you look - MINNIE RIPERTON with THE GEMS, EDDIE FLOYD with THE FALCONS, CHARLES STEPNEY with THE DELLS on their truly delicious "O-O, I Love You" (not on their "Standing Ovation" 2CD set - see separate review).

Long time ace engineer ERICK LABSON (has over 1000 mastering credits to his name) remastered the first generation tapes and the sound is WONDERFUL throughout - especially on the more soulful stuff on Discs 3 and 4 (BILL INGLOT of Rhino fame helped out of a few tracks). It's all good frankly - a joy to listen to throughout. There are a huge number of classics on here – the boppin' R 'n' B of "Sincerely" by The Moonglows (a firm Mod fave), Chuck's funny and sharp "No Particular Place To Go", the nightclub crawler "High Heel Sneakers" by Tommy Tucker - all the way to the heart-weary sassiness of "Tell Mama" by Etta James. 

But the real peach for me is the superlative 64-page box-length booklet by PETER GRENDYSA (does a lot of Bear Family's stuff - see my review for Louis Jordan's 9CD box set "Let The Good Times Roll"), which gives detailed annotation on every single track - and not just a couple of lines, but whole paragraphs to each entry (discography details too). The text is peppered with classy period photos (forgotten Doo Wop group THE DOZIERS are in there), trade adverts and an interview with Phil Chess. It's a well of great info and a proper informative read. Good names like ANDY McKAIE and COLIN ESCOTT were involved in the interviews and research, so you know it's a class act.

"Chess Rhythm & Roll" has been deleted three decades now and has subsequently acquired itself a wee bit of a price tag that hurts. But if you get a chance to buy one at a reasonable outlay - don't hesitate…it's a gem from start to finish...