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Took a look at the cuts included in this compilation. As per usual for Rhino, the collection is excellent and very complete. Even Hawg for You and Tennessee Waltz are included. I have almost all, but not the live, cuts on separate albums (am not fond of the speeded up tempos used during live performances). Am sure the sound quality is better than those funky Stax/Volt and Atco albums of mine. $50 for all this is paltry; I spent much more than this on the albums and CDs.
Couldn't live without this music. It has gotten me thru some rough patches, esp. the album Soul Ballads. Only Ray Charles sang with more warmth and depth.
Nothing compares to the Stax/Volt musicians. For the original hip hop beat, check out drummer Al Jackson Jr. on Tramp. (And all the sycophants suck up to James Brown as the originator.) Jackson Jr., incidentally, is one of the best, if not THE best, soul drummer.
Never, but never, settle for MP3 for this music. The very idea is ridiculous. The studio sessions were cut live in very few takes, in the converted movie theater that was the Stax/Volt studio, on a 3-track Ampex. The warmth and delay of that room are an integral part of the sound. (Al Jackson Jr. said it led him to play behind the beat the way he does.) MP3 may be fine for processed music, like Taylor Swift, but it would kill the delay, room sound and warmth of this music.
PS. Itch just had to be scratched. Picked this up for $43 on eBay. Had to have it, even if I have all the albums.
PPS. Have gotten the CDs. How is it that no one, not a single person on this supposed "audiophile" site, is screaming out loud about how bad digital is? My funky, old, dusty, scratched Stax/Volt and Atco vinyl sounds 1000% better than these dead CDs. Have compared the analog wav versions of the tunes on my computer to the CDs. The bass on the CDs is a mushy, formless blob, so formless it's hard to pick out the note being played. The highs are muffled and veiled. The midrange is stripped clean of harmonics. Al Jackson's superb drums sound like they're under water -- transients are blunted. They've killed American music. Trust no one, including Stereophile.