Customer Reviews

King R&B Box Set

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

 

 

Read the other reviews....most are right on.

What I want to add is Syd Nathan's 3 recorded talks are a cool insider look at a company of such musical importance, yet hardly anything is written about the inside workings of the company. Nathan is not a tyrant; he was a tough business man who had more taste than some of the other post-war record company owners. Compared to Lubinsky (Savoy) and Weiss (Old Town) and Blane (Jubilee), this guy was a pussycat!

Of course, there's almost no James Brown - his sides are not the property of the current King owners.

As far as one complaint about Joe Tex not on the box, hell, he cut a handful of early medicore sides for King....hardly a part of their history!

What is missing, though (and this is what the 5th disc should've included) is the early sides by artists who made a splash on other labels (Joe Tex, Syl Johnson, etc.)

But, ultimately, when you look over the history of King's R&B recordings, most of the really endearing favorites are here and sound great.

I have to agree with the Amazon reviewer. This is an essential set for lovers of R&B. Sure, it can't compare in terms of size to similar sets on the Mercury, Atlantic, Specialty, and Chess labels. But it contains many classics available nowhere else. Even if, as I do, you own Rhino's (much-recommended) greatest hits packages on The "5" Royales, Roy Brown, Wynonie Harris, Hank Ballard and the Midniters, Little Willie John, and Freddy King, this set contains enough great tracks by less-famous artists to make it a wise purchase. Get it while it's still in print. Note: treat this as a three-disc set with a bonus disc of rarities and speeches and you won't be as frustrated as the Amazon reviewer was.

Rhythm and Blues is some of the toughest music available. This set focuses on the King label. Based out of Cincinnati, King gave artist like James Brown a chance. Hank Ballard also recorded at King records. Work With Me Annie is one of the best songs never played on oldies radio. The booklet is very imformative and the pictures are also nice. Many of the songs on this disc have been forgotten, but thanks to this collection, they just might make it back.

I'm giving this Box Set 3 stars only as a nod to the fabulous artists who appear here, most of whom never received the recognition they deserve. Some of my favorites include The "5" Royales, Hank Ballard, Little Willie John, and that nasty Wynonie Harris. Fortunately, as another reviewer suggests, you can buy decent CD collections by many of the individual artists presented in this incomplete box set.
However, 2 stars glaringly missing belong to the late, great Joe Tex, and to the Godfather himself--James Brown--with only 1 (!) song!!
Where are those spectacular recordings from Joe Tex's King days anyway?? Tunes like 'Get Way Back', 'Pnuemonia', (the seriously rockin')'Right Back in My Arms', Another Woman's Man...It's criminal he's not included here! And James Brown...He personifies the King label!!
My advice is put together your OWN King collection.
Buy vinyl. Call Rhino.

A great collection of songs from that infamous label run by Syd Nathan. Beside the scholarly enjoyment you can get out of so many songs in their seminal nature (Train Kept-Rollin, Big Ten-Inch Record, I'm Tore Down, I'll Drown In My Tears, K.C. Loving (aka Kansas City), The Twist, and many many more) the MUSIC is fantastic. Dive in anywhere and enjoy. The only caveat is the booklet is poorly written - - focusing too much on Syd Nathan and giving very incomplete information on the artists themselves - PLUS, there are no songwriting credits! Which is a crime of high order. The only other thing to watch out for is the 4th CD is pretty much tapes of Syd Nathan talking for a half an hour. But otherwise it is a must to own and share.

Great King early Rock & R&B.Goes well w/ other ACE record re releases of Kings other stuff like Hillbilly & Rockabilly.

You get a lot with this box set, with certain obvious and unavoidable omissions (no JB of course)...

But it seems surprising to me that certain artists are missing from this box set. For one, Joe Tex, who's Right Back To My Arms would be a perfectly respectable addition to the King story told here. AS to whether he was important to the label, it it probably important to include him in the sense that it was there that Joe learned the tough lessons of the music business, worked as a songwriter, had his first recording break, and also there that he wrote Little Willie John's 'Fever', a big hit for King, which he was forced to give away to cover a debt.