17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little-known diamond of a box set., November 29, 2001
This review is from: Definitive Charley Patton (Audio CD)
The massive and super-sexy box of Charley Patton on Revenant is getting plenty of raves, and perhaps rightly so -- but the real bargain is here on a compact, handsome, and highly economical package from Catfish, a UK label. The recordings sound as good as they probably ever could (take that as meaning they are fun to listen to), and the booklet is nicely done. No lyrics are provided, but otherwise everything is just about perfect. And Patton himself is a revelation, perhaps not as dramatic as Robert Johnson at his best but a terrific performer -- and a voice that's going to get stuck in your head forever.
Want a nice box set of one of the greatest blues artists ever and don't have $150 for the Revenant set? Check this out. You won't be disappointed.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best quality yet, absolutely essential!!!!, April 20, 2001
This review is from: Definitive Charley Patton (Audio CD)
I waited with baited breath for this one an was not disappionted one bit. Catfish has really cleaned up the sound. REALLY!! There is a great and informative booklet with it as well as the box cover being a recently discovered advertisment of Charley sitting down which none of us knew existed. this music may not be for everyone,in fact some will find his vocals hard to digest because of his intimidating growl. At this price don't pass it up. Especially since the only other time his complete recorded output was released it was at a cost of $18 a pop per cd consisting of 3 pieces. Patton rules and rocks forever!!!!!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best sound available, one of the great values in music., January 25, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Definitive Charley Patton (Audio CD)
Although the Revenant boxed set is rightly lauded for its spectacular packaging and nearly overwhelming completeness, this Catfish set lacks just a couple of the Patton tracks on the Revenant, and the Catfish sounds better.
While many blues CD reissues are ruined by overprocessing in the transfers (nearly anything from Sony), Catfish has used processing judiciously to create the most listenable CD versions of these difficult sides. Revenant is definitely raw and in your face, like they just put the needle on the records and let them play, but Catfish strikes a great balance between taking the noise out and leaving the music in.
It helps that Catfish works from better sources, too. These 78s indicate significantly less groove wear and other distortion here than on the same tracks on the Revenant box.
If you can live without the few extra obscure Patton sides Revenant includes, you needn't worry about settling for this box -- you'll still get the best sound. In fact, if you're a Patton fan, you need the Patton set for the packaging and included materials, this one for the clearest transfers.
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