Fill Your Head: The Studio Albums 1969-1974 [Box set, Original recording remastered]

Rare Earth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
• 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: Hip-O Select
• ASIN: B001DZDTWC
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,041 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Magic Key

2. Tobacco Road

3. Feelin' Alright

4. In Bed

5. Train to Nowhere

6. Get Ready

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Born to Wander

2. Long Time Leavin'

3. (I Know) I'm Losing You

4. Satisfaction Guaranteed

5. Nice Place to Visit

6. No. 1 Man

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Good Time Sally

2. Every Now and Then We Get to Go on Down to Miami

3. Think of the Children

4. Gotta Get Myself Back Home

5. Come with Your Lady

6. Would You Like to Come Along

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Motown's first white rock group was every bit as funky and soulful as their Motor City labelmates, yet Rare Earth has been far too rare in the CD era-until now! Get Ready for this awesome 3-CD set from Hip-O Select that collects their first 5 charting studio albums: Get Ready ('69), Ecology ('70), One World ('71), Willie Remembers ('72) and Ma ('73), featuring classics like (I Know) I'm Losing You; I Just Want to Celebrate; Born to Wander , and Big John is My Name . You also get 9 bonus single sides including the hit edit of Get Ready and the Top 20 non-lp cut Hey Big Brother . 43 massive tracks plus a 32-page booklet...and it's all housed in a curved-top box that mimics the unique design of those original Rare Earth label releases!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A HIP-O SIZED HEARTBREAKER, September 9, 2008

By 

BOB (LOS ANGELES, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fill Your Head: The Studio Albums 1969-1974 (Audio CD)

For 25+ years, Rare Earth fans have been subjected to a slew of CD catalog reissues, bootlegs and compilations, all featuring a wide variance of mastering quality. Therefore, the announcement of this set by Hip-O Select was a fortuitous portent: We, the long-suffering, would FINALLY have the five primary Motown studio albums (Get Ready, Ecology, One World, Willie Remembers & Ma), plus singles and rare tracks, in remastered, matched audio. That Hip-O has developed a decent rep for reissues made the imminent release even more welcome.

Unfortunately, in just about every department, this set falls depressingly short.

First, and most importantly, the audio. I have always used the excellent 2001 Millennium Collection remastered compilation CD (the only one to include "Get Ready", "Ma", "(I Know) I'm Losing You" & "What'd I Say", in their original, full-length-jam LP versions) as a comparison disc. However, A/B'ing against that disc, it was immediately obvious the Hip-O versions were mastered without regard to the dynamic range of the original material. This is most apparent in the long version of "Get Ready": On the Millennium CD, all the instruments are perfectly balanced, with none being dominant, and Pete Rivera's kick drum providing a great bottom.

On the Hip-O, the drums are buried, the kick is muffled, and the individual instruments have been magnified in volume. Accordingly, the previously slight, artificial echo added in the studio to simulate a live performance is also increased, but to the point of annoyance: "Get Ready" now sounds like it was engineered by the Tidy Bowl Man.

Superior audio versions of Rare Earth material are not limited to the Millennium CD: "Tobacco Road", and 13 other tracks, appear in much better clarity on the 1998 The Very Best Of (unfortunately, now OOP, but available used). Even Motown's own Ma CD, released in 1994, sounds better; with modern digital mastering, how do you miss not improving on a near-15-year-old target? Incredibly, and the most damning of all, the Rare Earth tracks on Hip-O's own, 2008 The Complete Motown Singles Volume 10 are superior to this set!!!!

In fact, the mastering on this box is suspiciously identical to the 2004 The Collection compilation (which I also don't recommend), but that disc has no production credits for confirmation.

(Although I have referred to my A/B set-up in previous Amazon reviews, I should reiterate: My comparisons are made on two Sony XA7 transports running simultaneously into a Camelot Uther DAC via matched-length Acoustic Zen coax cables and monitored thru Sennheiser 590's.)

Then there's the set itself, made entirely from cardboard and paper. It probably made for a cool-sounding concept during a design meeting, but in execution, popping the shrinkwrap on this set is like scraping the pancake makeup off a 50-year-old drag queen; it isn't pretty.

The exterior "box" is just a flimsy-and-I-mean-flimsy (remember cardboard CD long-boxes? Even thinner) two-piece sleeve. The removable cardboard inner section containing the discs is a single-piece, five-part, multi-fold affair, each section replicating the original front and rear LP artwork. However, the sections don't really line up straight when folded. Also, as the insert is accordion-like, it naturally wants to un-compress, so each end pressure-rubs against the inside of the box when removed/reinserted. The resultant friction on the art (the front of the "Get Ready" LP & the rear of "Ma) obviously didn't occur to the two credited designers; mine's already showing minor wear, and I've barely touched it. All of the exact same album art is unnecessarily repeated in the booklet, a blatant padding of an otherwise emaciated document, which only additionally delivers a five-page essay, one non-album archival photo, and each LP's inner sleeve art.

I'm all for "eco-friendly packaging", but this set just screams "CHEAP!", and is the antithesis of its exorbitant cost: a $60 list price (Hip-O-direct, Amazon is even higher) for three discs, cardboard, a meager booklet and sub-par remastering? I'm sorry, but I own 100+ box sets, and I can't think of one which is such a low-grade production at this price point (the equally-shoddy Beatles "Capitol Years" boxes are within $10, but they both had better sound, far more robust booklets, four discs each, and, let me think... oh yeah, THE BEATLES). Also, Rare Earth did a lot of television during its heyday, so would have an added DVD with those performances been that hard to license/assemble/include at this cost?

Unfortunately, this will probably be the last word for Rare Earth aficionados, and it's a limited edition to boot. If you've ever wanted the complete primary repertoire, this will probably be the only way you'll ever get it... You almost HAVE to buy the bloody thing. Or, you could compromise and opt for the afore-mentioned The Millennium Collection, The Very Best Of & Ma titles, then assemble your own anthology, like I did: Ultimately, less satisfying in total content, but you get the core, essential tracks in both original LP length, superior sound, and with far less wallet-stress. To be honest, on this entire 43-track set, I only found seven additional songs I would listen to with any regularity, but none which I would consider essential.

You really have to hope other reissue houses aren't taking a page from Hip-O's book on this one, as it establishes a new low on the expectations scale. Indeed, I have a hard time reconciling this release being produced by the same outfit who birthed the amazing Complete Motown Singles series. One could observe there's a 40% street-price delta between this set and any one of the Motown volumes (I've puckered up for all ten released to date), but that percentage is certainly not representative of the dichotomy in the quality or content received when both are purchased. Quite simply, Hip-O's $59.99 list price for this Rare Earth Set just sucks. IMHO, and comparing it to all my other box sets, for what you get, anything north of a $35 list (not street) is sheer highway robbery.

When this set was first announced, I moved all of my Rare Earth CD's to the "sell" shelf, then eagerly, impulsively and idiotically ordered it direct from Hip-O (and paying shipping, which would have been free thru Amazon), rather than wait the extra two weeks for it to debut here. However, as I glower at it sitting here in front of me, I inhabit the same frame of mind when handing over my credit card for an expensive meal I didn't enjoy: Extreme, disappointed annoyance. I have since restored the older CD's to my collection, and the "Millennium" disc will remain my primary source disc. This set? I'll hang on to it for a year after it's OOP, then sell it for big bucks on eBay to some poor sod who hasn't read this review, will never know the difference and will be SO HAPPY he finally found one which had only been played once... well, actually, because I sooooo couldn't believe what I was hearing that I had paid list price for (plus shipping!), I had to "audio-pinch" myself and play it twice, just to be sure. Yep, unfortunately, I was right the first time.

Hip-O, you blew this one and you broke my heart. Hopefully, it's not an omen of all things Hip-O to come.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Faulty Disc 1, November 6, 2008

By 

Eckhard Voelker (Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fill Your Head: The Studio Albums 1969-1974 (Audio CD)

To cut a long story short...Buyers (who are probably willing to pay $ 50 or more for this set) should be aware that Track 13 "Love Shines Down" on CD 1 is not "Love Shines Down" but "Magic Key" again (already Track 1), this time with an incorrect starting code (beginning too abruptly). Looking at the Hip-O homepage you'll find words like "painstakingly remastered". I don't see any painstaking here and I'm annoyed. So 5 stars for the idea of presenting Rare Earth's complete early studio ouput, but one star only only for Hip-O's carelessness.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars About the Price, September 10, 2008

By 

Vail Ryan "VailBass" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fill Your Head: The Studio Albums 1969-1974 (Audio CD)

As regards the price of this set: I assume Motown had something to do with that. As an example, check out the $120+/- for the 6 CD Singles boxes. Berry Gordy was never known for his generosity. Just be glad you never worked for him. He screwed many of those people.