Customer Reviews

House of Blues: Essential Blues V.1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While the music here is solid and the packaging first rate, the incredibly annoying voiceover to announce which artist is up next interupts the music's flow and is enough to make one hit the eject button. And that's after the first listen. Trying to get through it again and again is next to impossible. To add insult to injury, because the VO is tacked onto the back of the tracks, RIPing the disc and removing the offending noise isn't a workaround unless you want to start editing audio files.

Gimme music without interruption.

I bought the Shoebox Full of Blues which contains this disc, and the selection and quality is first rate. There isn't a bad track on the disc, and the mastering is superb. These may be the highest quality versions of these classics you'll hear. Blues purists may argue that vinyl is the only "true" way to listen to these, but who among us has pristine vinyl and the equipment to do it justice?

I wish I had known about the commentary/intros mentioned in another review of this title (There's no mention of the commentary on the reviews or details of the box set). I too find them extremely annoying, and really detest the fact that the produces grafted them onto the end of tracks instead of making them standalone cuts. For all of us that rip our CD's to MP3 there is a cure. It takes a few minutes, but it's worth it. Grab MP3Trim, a free MP3 editor from http://www.mptrim.com/ Then trim from the end of these cuts as indicated.

Killing Floor - 28 Seconds
Better Off With The Blues - 19 Seconds
Mojo Hand - 43 Seconds
Walking The Backstreets And Crying - 35 Seconds
Let's Straighten It Out - 27 Seconds
Rainin' In My Heart - 31 Seconds

I'd also suggest you adjust the volume by -3 db when you trim or you'll induce some clipping on the edited tracks.

Once you do that, and assuming you don't rip the intro that starts each disc, you're left with 30 tracks of nothin' but Blues, guaranteed to make you want more.

This set provides the listener with a broad variety of blues sounds, and is perfect for the person who can't decide on just one artist. Two thumbs up, five stars, and all that stuff too.

This set provides the listener with a broad variety of blues sounds, and is perfect for the person who can't decide on just one artist. Two thumbs up, five stars, and all that stuff too.