The Chess Story: 1947-1975 [BOX SET] [ENHANCED] [IMPORT]

Various Artists - Blues - Chicago Blues

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 12, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 2000
• Number of Discs: 15
• Format: Box set, Enhanced, Import
• 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: Mca Import
• ASIN: B00002MCI4
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #368,318 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
15 disc box set, a painstakingly thorough retrospective of the remarkable Chess label's repertoire of blues, soul & rock'n'roll artists. An individually numbered, limited edition release, it contains 13 CDs that trace the history of the label (340 tracks from the likes of Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry, Willie Dixon & many others), plus an 18 track interview disc featuring conversations with Phil Chess & Marshall Chess) and a CD-ROM disc (the 15th CD) that functions as an interactive journey through the 'Chess

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent music,useless liner notes, July 13, 2001

By	Sasha "lampic" (at sea...sailing somewhere) - See all my reviews

Good news: all the "Chess" hits and rarities collected in this priceless Box where Muddy Waters,Howlin'Wolf and Elmore James are rubbing shoulders with Chuck Berry,Bo Didley and Etta James. Bad news: CD-Box is rich with completely obscure and long forgotten names,singers who had they 5 minutes of fame in say,1953. but liner notes are completely useless as the essay which is spread on 53 (!) pages is exclusively focused only on the explanation that "Chess" was very important company and counting big names.(CD-Room does not provide any more informations either) Now,its nice to have all "Chess" hits,but they are easily available anyway - the juice of this CD-Box is the presence of LOTS and LOTS of obscure names,great singers who were not commerically sucessful and instead of explaining who these people were,the essay is full of Muddy Waters photos.There is a singer (L.C.Cooke) who is a spitting image of Sam Cook - nothing about him (I had to search high and low to find out that he was actually Sam Cook's brother).There is a funny guy called Clarence "Frogman" Henry,nothing about him.There is a vocal group called "Barbara & The Browns" where lead vocal sounds like young Tina Turner (I am listening Tina's records for 20 years now and I never stumbled upon such similarity),no informations about her whatsoever.On a disc 7 instead of Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll music" there is another song from different performer. It is a very expensive CD-Box and for me the information about musicians are VERY important,I want to know who is it,so if I like it,I can look further in that direction and discover something else.Instead of useless CD-Room and CD with interview,they should have better essay with complete explanations who these performers were.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pricey but well worth it., July 5, 2000

By	etl (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This box set is a great representation of the blues, R & B, and rock n' roll the Chess brothers produced. The tracks are clear and captivating. The CDROM is worthless (my computer actually told me it had a virus on it) but you shouldn't buy this set for anything but the music. I highly recommend this box set despite its price.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars essential for Blues and R&B completeists, July 12, 2006

By	The Delite Rancher (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"The Chess Story: 1947-1975" is an amazing collection of vintage music. For the uninitiated, Chess was one of the all-time great Blues and R&B record labels. The Chicago based company recorded music by the likes of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley and so the list goes on. "The Chess Story" contains classics by legends and some one hit wonders that weren't so wondrous. In this respect, not all of the music is five star quality, but then again the listener doesn't purchase a box set of this scope for a greatest hits compilation. Along these lines, "The Chess Story" starts out strong, firmly rooted in the Blues. As the set chronologically moves, it becomes weaker as pop and R&B songs become more prevalent. The accompanying literature, CD-ROM and interview disc are good compliments. While pricey, each disc comes out to around $12.00 based on the average cost of Amazon's marketplace sellers. As a side note, the discs can be seen as they are actually tracked out by visiting the website for musicmatch guide. Like "the Complete Stax-Volt Singles," this box set is ideal for R&B/Blues completeists and those who aren't afraid to make a large commitment to something new. Regardless of the listener's background, "The Chess Story: 1947-1975" is an epic adventure that will deliver years of enjoyment.