ROOTS N BLUES  THE RETROSPECTIVE  1925-1950 - FOUR CASSETTES - OVER FIVE HOURS OF MUSIC - OVER 100 LEGENDARY ARTISTS MANY AVAILABLE FOR THE 1ST TIME - 64 PAGE COLORED BOOK - COMPLETE TRACK ANNOTATIONS - ALL DIGITALLY REMASTERED BOX SET.  

NOTE: THIS ITEM IS TOTALLY SEALED AND STILL HAS IT'S ORIGINAL MARKETING STICKER ON THE FRONT BUT ON THE OUT OF DATE BARCODE THERE IS A VERY SMALL CUTOUT HOLE OTHER THEN THAT THE BOX IS IN PRISTINE CONDITION.

In 1992, when this came out, there was nothing like it. Now, with the success of such items as the "Oh Brother..." soundtrack and the reissued "Anthology of American Folk Music," this set may get lost in the shuffle. I have most of the similar reissues, and I still think this is the best.

First, it covers a wider timespan than the Smith "Anthology." This means it has both a few older songs, and several newer ones. Thus, this set has an early Bill Monroe song. This set also includes some things which weren't released on 78, so one of Muddy Water's first professional recordings is on here. (Don't believe the note that this was never released before, however. It came out on an Okeh Chicago blues record in the 1980s.) Though this set has only 4 cds to the Anthology's 6, the amount of music is about the same, because these four are filled, and the Anthology's 6 only have the equivalent of Smith's original 6 lps, and are therefore rather short by cd standards.

One thing I find in reissue sets like this one is that some artists and some songs get rereleased over and over. This set does not fall into that trap. Rather, it has many little known artists, some of whom recorded only a handful of sides. Nevertheless, the songs here are almost universally wonderful, covering a wide (but not TOO wide) range of styles with wonderful performances.

You won't find many of these records anywhere else, and the set has a terrific bunch of blues, gospel, string band, Cajun and other vernacular styles. Don't miss it!