Original Dixieland Jazz Band Music

These sides on Audiophile label are some of the best Dixieland recorded. All the musicians are outstanding on their instruments, particularly Hal Runyan on trombone and Knocky Parker on piano. I only hope that it comes out on CD soon. Doc always has creative and tight arrangements and makes use of some imaginative approaches to these classic tunes.

RCA (BMG) did an outstanding job on the 'Nipper's Greatest Hits' series released back in the '90's. And this particular one is probably the most eclectic due to the era and age of these recordings, the earliest of which was recorded in 1905. I guess I am considered odd, as I enjoy listening to this music. Yes, it is extremely dated, and the sound is scratchy and tinny with virtually no bass (low end sound came around in the early twenties), but to hear music recorded in another era - a time that almost no one alive today remembers - is as exciting to me as anything I can think of. Just remember to listen with 'old ears' and not with your 21st century sensibilities.
"Grand Old Rag," The Yamma Yamma Man," "Shine On Harvest Moon," and "In the Good Old Summertime" are just as alive to me today as they were to the listener a hundred years (and more) ago.
Truly a joy to listen to.
Now, I do have a complaint. I would like to see RCA re-issue this collection, but do it right this time: give each decade (1900 - 1909 and 1910 - 1919) its own CD. To cover twenty years with only twenty songs does a dis-service to the people and music of the era.
By the way, at the time of this writing, this collection on Amazon is astronomically priced - search it out elsewhere. It's good but not THAT good.

I bought this on a whim and have continued to be astonished by the scope and quality of the material with each listen. I picked it up at list price (around $50.00) but this is worth double, even triple the price. You can find all the material in the set on other recordings, but to duplicate the range of material you would be paying several hundred dollars. I have some of these recordings on other Cds but have not found the quality better even though they promised remastering and clean-up. When you are talking about material recorded from the 1930's and early 40's there is only so much remastering can do. The quality of sound ranges from excellent to poor, but the general range is very good for this material.

Simply one of the best collections of early blues.

This compelation is one of the most complete early blues recordings from it's infancy ( 1923-1948 )that I have found in one buy.It's all original recordings in there true bluesy sound that brings out what blues is all about, true heartfelt,booze drinking,spouse cheating best.From Sonny Boy Williamson to Muddy Waters to Bukka White to John Lee Hooker to Memphis Minnie. It's all here. You think jeez 40 cd's ?? But there are doubled so it's only 20cd's ( case wise ) of the best blues..You can't go wrong..

10 STARS!!! It's like having a huge collection of vintage LPs from the early- to mid-20th century. 10 CDs with an average 17-18 songs per, with superb remastering. There are so many artists -- some big names and some not, but all choices on this set are notable. Lyrics go from the sublime to the hilarious: "I sent my woman a $20 bill ... If that don' bring her back, my shotgun prob'ly will" ... the masterful guitar, piano and voices are as remarkable today as they were then.

This collection contains a nice mix of Gene's swinging tunes and some of his more classic ballads. If you are looking for a CD that covers the full gamet, this is the one!