Can You Dig It? The '70s Soul Experience [BOX SET]

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 16, 2001)
• Original Release Date: October 16, 2001
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00005Q469
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,486 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
The liner notes that accompany this collection note that '70s soul music has never really gotten its due. One could argue that point for days, but hubris aside, there's no denying that Can You Dig It pays serious homage to the golden years of American soul. The new box set contains 6 CDs and 136 cuts, 65 of which hit the No. 1 spot on the R&B and/or pop charts. As you'd expect with a project that mines such a rich era (the CDs are compiled chronologically), it represents a who's who of stars. Among the notables: Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, the Spinners, the O'Jays, the Staple Singers, James Brown, Chairmen of the Board, Laura Lee, Freda Payne, and Jean Knight. Lesser lights also get to shine, i.e., El Chicano, who deliver the salsafied hippie anthem "Tell Her She's Lovely." But let's be honest--the selling point is the hits, and from the uplifting "Ooh Child" to the sassy "Want Ads," if you grew up in the '70s (hands up), then these tracks are beloved. Sure, the hard-core fan will probably wish for more obscurities, and the exclusion of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and George Clinton is troublesome, but anyone wanting an at-home jukebox loaded with classic R&B will certainly dig this. --Amy Linden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Songs and Package, Marred By The Rhino Knife, December 27, 2002

By	"prymel" (Anaheim, CA USA) - See all my reviews

As is typical with Rhino compilations, the song choices are excellent, but, unfortunately (and also typically), they saw fit to chop them down to the radio edits in many cases. This isn't as big a deal on Rhino's "Pop Culture" boxes, because many Top 40 songs are so well-known in their radio-edited form, that most folks won't even miss the longer album versions, or even know or care that they exist. But many soul songs from this era benefited from the breathing room they received from the additional length on the original albums, and chopping them to fit a compilation dulls the impact of the emotion, the message, or simply the groove.

Nevertheless, this is a good starting point for those wanting to sample the great soul tunes and artists of the 70's.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can dig it ..., November 23, 2001

By	matthewslaughter "matthewslaughter" (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Born in 1975, many of the songs on "Can You Dig It" bring me back to some of my earliest memories. "Rock the Boat," "Strawberry Letter 23," "I'll Take You There," "Why Can't We Be Friends," etc. Of course, this box sets lacks songs by Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, but the people who would dish out this amount of money for this set probably already have their great albums. I am glad that the staples of the genre are underrepresented (Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Sly and the Family Stone, Isaac Hayes, Isley Brothers, James Brown etc.) because that gives more room for the "one-hit" wonders and less familiar acts. Also, growing up listening to pre-sample litigation rap records like "Paul's Boutique" and "Straight Outta Compton," many of the songs (which I had not heard in their entirety) sampled on those records appear here--"Express Yourself," "Be Thankful for What You Got," "That Lady," and others. I'm reminded of Steve Harvey's monologue about soul music in Spike Lee's "The Original Kings of Comedy." Many of these songs (like "Me and Mrs. Jones" and "Betcha By Golly Wow") express "soul" and "love" in ways that much of today's rap records don't. (This remark is not a condemnation of rap music but simply an observation.) This set is a time capsule, filled in an imitation eight-track cassette (remember them?) case, chock-full of great songs you either love, loved, forgotten, or never heard at all.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love it, February 21, 2003

By	Melissa Garland "melissag915" (O'Fallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Recommended listening. Sandwiched in time between the Motown of the 60s and the emergence of rap in the 80s is the forgotten cool of 70s soul. I remember these songs from watching Soul Train after American Bandstand and Casey Casem's Top 10, and was delighted with the richness of the sound and song. Makes me almost embarrassed by what I listened to as a teenager in the 80s, it doesn't hold up as well as the songs in this collection.

Even if you don't like soul, R&B, get it anyway if you can. It will broaden you horizons. Added bonus is the booklet that accompanies the grammy-nominated packaging - you will enjoy every aspect of this set.