Customer Reviews

For You - The Decca Years 1963-1969

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3 star:		(1)
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For You-The Decca Years 1963-1969 continues in the Bear Family Records tradition of providing the best in box sets. So if your contemplating making this purchase read on and see what you receive.

When Rick Nelson went from Imperial Records to Decca the hits slowed down to a trickle. Rick had Four Top 30 songs by the time of the British Invasion and then faded from the Hit Parade. However, unlike many of his contempories, Rick continued to evolve and experiment. In 1966-67 releasing "Bright Lights And Country Music" and then the companion piece "Country Fever." Both are chock full of fine singing by Rick and playing by James Burton, Glen Campbell, Clarence White, Glen D. Hardin and others.

Musically what makes this box set worth its price is the 20 songs from 1969 "Live At The Troubador." Besides the 12 orginal released songs and then the recently released "Bye Bye Love" and "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" another six songs make their first appearance. "Poor Little Fool", "Travelin' Man", "It's Late", "Lady Came From Baltimore", "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" and the great Dylan "Tonight I'll Be Stayin' With You" at last are released.

With "Live At The Troubador" fetching $100+ (if you can find it) purchase this Box Set. There is also a 140 page album size booklet with terrific insightful liner notes by Todd Everett, incredibly rare photos (many from the 69 Troubador appearance) and rare trade ads and record covers provided by Kent McCombs. The 8 Track Mix by Bill Inglot really enhances the music throughout. A bargain for any true Rick Nelson fan. I can't wait for Box Three on Rick from Bear Family Records, The Stone Canyon Band era! WOW!!

I agree more with Mr Cooke's review than Mr. Lucas'. Mr Cooke reported about all the great music that was found in the box set, the great remixing that was done and the outstanding booklet. Mr. Lucas likes the box set because of the great music but becomes negative to the set because the one CD that deals with the live album Rick released isn't exactly like the original release. The box set is celebrating the music of Rick Nelson and not the actuall albums that were released. If you look close the other CD's do not following the exact release pattern as the original releases. Bear Family released a box set honoring the music that Rick released during 1963 - 1969. If you are a Rick Nelson fan and are looking for the great releases of Rick during this time then you will love the beautiful job that Bear Family did. If you want the exact album then look towards ACE records and the 2 for 1 they released on Rick's Decca albums. Maybe someday Mr. Lucas will see a complete release of the live album (I would like to see it also) but if you want those great sounds from 1963 to 1969 then you will not be disappointed.

I bought this (expensive) box set primarily for the live recordings on disc 6. They sound fine, and the 140-page book has lots of pictures, though it did not include much new data. That disappointed me - a little. However, the live disc disappointed me more. Here's why: the songs are listed and play in alphabetical order. Is that how Rick sang them in the show? Aren't songs listed and played in alphabetical order on homemade CDs made with off-the-shelf software? The box set uses the word Decca in its title, and on the original live record in 1970, the emcee says, "The Troubadour is proud to present Decca recording artist, Mr. Rick Nelson." Later versions of the MCA re-released record and the CD omit "Decca recording artist," but why does the Decca box set? Why also is the stage chatter before "Easy to Be Free" and "Believe What You Say" eliminated from the original recording? I wanted ALL that was included on the original PLUS, not MINUS. Shouldn't we expect more from remastered box sets with bonus material? And the talk before "Believe What You Say" is replaced by the emcee's truncated introduction because "Believe" is the first song - alphabetically. I'd like to know what Rick's song list was back in 1969, because now I am confused. On the other hand, the new disc has eight more tracks than the original, and they sound wonderful, as do all the songs from the original LP. Yet, as a Rick Nelson fan since 1963, I would have liked the traditionally meticulous Bear Family to have put more thought into the live performance disc, which, when released in 1970, provided a turning point in Rick Nelson's career.

A superb collection, as usual from the German champions, it's not for nothing they called the Rolls Royce of Records.
You become totally ecstatic just to see the box and when you open it and find the great book that comes with, one is entirely lost. There is enormously beautiful pictures, in both black and white and in color, and of course there is also a lot of information about Rick `s life.
What also is nice is all those covers that are over CDs that have come out in all different countries in the world. There is also a discography of all songs available on the 6 CD plates, it certainly can't be more complete than it is.
When we come to the most important thing - the music, you will not be disappointed, extremely good songs with a nice sound and audio. That said, if you are a Rick Nelson fan, don't miss this box.