15 disc box set, a painstakingly thorough retrospective of the remarkable Chess label's repertoire of blues, soul & rock'n'roll artists. An individually numbered, limited edition release, it contains 13 CDs that trace ... more »the history of the label (340 tracks from the likes of Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry, Willie Dixon & many others), plus an 18 track interview disc featuring conversations with Phil Chess & Marshall Chess) and a CD-ROM disc (the 15th CD) that functions as an interactive journey through the 'Chess« less
15 disc box set, a painstakingly thorough retrospective of the remarkable Chess label's repertoire of blues, soul & rock'n'roll artists. An individually numbered, limited edition release, it contains 13 CDs that trace the history of the label (340 tracks from the likes of Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Clarence 'Frogman' Henry, Willie Dixon & many others), plus an 18 track interview disc featuring conversations with Phil Chess & Marshall Chess) and a CD-ROM disc (the 15th CD) that functions as an interactive journey through the 'Chess
CD Reviews
Excellent music,useless liner notes
Sasha | at sea...sailing somewhere | 07/13/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Good news: all the "Chess" hits and rarities collected in this priceless Box where Muddy Waters,Howlin'Wolf and Elmore James are rubbing shoulders with Chuck Berry,Bo Didley and Etta James. Bad news: CD-Box is rich with completely obscure and long forgotten names,singers who had they 5 minutes of fame in say,1953. but liner notes are completely useless as the essay which is spread on 53 (!) pages is exclusively focused only on the explanation that "Chess" was very important company and counting big names.(CD-Room does not provide any more informations either) Now,its nice to have all "Chess" hits,but they are easily available anyway - the juice of this CD-Box is the presence of LOTS and LOTS of obscure names,great singers who were not commerically sucessful and instead of explaining who these people were,the essay is full of Muddy Waters photos.There is a singer (L.C.Cooke) who is a spitting image of Sam Cook - nothing about him (I had to search high and low to find out that he was actually Sam Cook's brother).There is a funny guy called Clarence "Frogman" Henry,nothing about him.There is a vocal group called "Barbara & The Browns" where lead vocal sounds like young Tina Turner (I am listening Tina's records for 20 years now and I never stumbled upon such similarity),no informations about her whatsoever.On a disc 7 instead of Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll music" there is another song from different performer. It is a very expensive CD-Box and for me the information about musicians are VERY important,I want to know who is it,so if I like it,I can look further in that direction and discover something else.Instead of useless CD-Room and CD with interview,they should have better essay with complete explanations who these performers were."
You Can Get A Whole Lot More For Less...And Should...(A 2009
Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 04/19/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"When this Chess label behemoth was released by Universal USA in 1999 - as you can imagine - it was something of an event. Remastered by tape maestro ERICK LABSON (over 800 credits to his name), it was housed in a hard card outer with three colour-coded wood-effect books inside and a further printed 70-page hardback beside them. It certainly looked the part.
Each book carried 5CDs - 15 in total - offering up 340 tracks dating from 1947 to 1975 across 13 audio discs - Disc 14 and 15 being an interview disc and a CD-Rom. Many were first time on CD and exclusive to this set. It was later broken down into 3 separate releases in 2001 offering a cheaper option. Ten years down the line into 2009, however, and time hasn't been kind to either the original big box or the three reissues.
Each of the three 'books' has a crappy centred booklet at the top which lists the song and artist, but amazingly for a retrospective of this size, doesn't provide a catalogue number nor which personnel played on what. The 70-page hardback book is nice to look at, but again deceptively slight. It gives us a history of the label by Robert Pruter (of Chicago Soul magazine), a printed version of the interviews on Disc 14 (repeating itself) and a Chess R&B Charts list at the very end. While Pruter's story of Chess is very entertaining, and the music on Disc 1 to 13 simply sensational, precisely because of its cost, you still feel like you've been short changed.
I've reviewed all 3 boxes separately and provided track-by-track catalogue numbers, but reviewing the full box now - something occurs to me.
A slew of good releases in both the USA and UK - especially between 2007 and 2009 - have made much of the box's exclusivity redundant and its price tag since deletion a bit of an expensive extravagance (300 to 400 sterling or 500 to 600.00 dollars). The now ludicrous cost of acquiring this set coupled with the less than stellar packaging makes me think that you must be able to get better elsewhere. So I set about a trawl to find alternatives and have come up with the following list, which will provide fans with 90% of what's on this 15CD box while throwing in a good 20% more - and all of it for less than half the money...
All of the following are remastered by the best labels and have superb and detailed liner notes:
1. The Very Best Of - FONTELLA BASS (2006 CD, 25 Tracks)
11. The Real Folk Blues/More Folk Blues - MUDDY WATERS
(2003, US Hip-O Select, 2LPs on 1CD, 22 Tracks)
12. Fathers & Sons - MUDDY WATERS (2001, 2LP set on 1CD with bonuses, 20 tracks)
13. The Real Folk Blues/More Folk Blues - SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON
(2003, 2LPs on 1CD, US Hip-O Select)
14. Chess Uptown Soul - VARIOUS (1997, 24 Tracks, UK Kent Compilation)
15. Chess Club Rhythm & Soul - VARIOUS
(1996, 25 Tracks, UK Kent Compilation)
16. Chicago Radio Soul - VARIOUS
(1996, 26 Tracks, Chess Labels, UK Kent Compilation)
17. Chess Chartbusters Vol. 1 to 6 - VARIOUS
(UK Budget-Priced 20 Track Compilations, 120 songs in total)
18. Chess Tearjerkers - VARIOUS (2005, UK Mojo Magazine Compilation, 20 Tracks)
19. Chess Soul Sisters - VARIOUS (2005, UK Mojo Magazine Compilation, 20 Tracks)
20. Chess Northern Soul - VARIOUS (2005, UK Mojo Magazine Compilation, 20 Tracks)
21. Chess Blues - VARIOUS (1993, US 4CD Box Set, 101 Tracks)
22. Just Keep On Dancing - Chess Northern Soul - VARIOUS
(1996, 24 Tracks, UK Kent Compilation)
There are over 500 tracks on 1 to 22 above and the cost is about one hundred & fifty pounds/three hundred dollars - or less - including P&P. Universal can't of course be held responsible for retailers trying to chance extortion on a deleted and desirable rarity, but punters should know that the same material - and better - is available elsewhere - and for a fraction of the cost. And like Atlantic and Motown, Chess is a label worth taking that time and effort for."
Pricey but well worth it.
etl | New York, NY USA | 07/05/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This box set is a great representation of the blues, R & B, and rock n' roll the Chess brothers produced. The tracks are clear and captivating. The CDROM is worthless (my computer actually told me it had a virus on it) but you shouldn't buy this set for anything but the music. I highly recommend this box set despite its price."
Essential for Blues and R&B completeists
The Delite Rancher | Phoenix, Arizona | 07/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
""The Chess Story: 1947-1975" is an amazing collection of vintage music. For the uninitiated, Chess was one of the all-time great Blues and R&B record labels. The Chicago based company recorded music by the likes of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Lowell Fulson, Bo Diddley and so the list goes on. "The Chess Story" contains classics by legends and some one hit wonders that weren't so wondrous. In this respect, not all of the music is five star quality, but then again the listener doesn't purchase a box set of this scope for a greatest hits compilation. Along these lines, "The Chess Story" starts out strong, firmly rooted in the Blues. As the set chronologically moves, it becomes weaker as pop and R&B songs become more prevalent. The accompanying literature, CD-ROM and interview disc are good compliments. While pricey, each disc comes out to around $12.00 based on the average cost of Amazon's marketplace sellers. As a side note, the discs can be seen as they are actually tracked out by visiting the website for musicmatch guide. Like "the Complete Stax-Volt Singles," this box set is ideal for R&B/Blues completeists and those who aren't afraid to make a large commitment to something new. Regardless of the listener's background, "The Chess Story: 1947-1975" is an epic adventure that will deliver years of enjoyment."
Super collection at any price!
rollo | usa | 09/21/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are a person who is into old soul and R&B, this collection from Chicago's Chess/Checker records will blow your mind. It contains samples of many artists who recorded on Chess from 1947 to 1964 such as Willie Dixon, The Moonglows, The Dells, The Sonics, The Radiants, Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters and others too numerous to name. There are also a few STEREO surprises in this package such as Ty Hunter singing "Lonely Baby". This collection is a treasure chest."
Track Listings (343) - Disc #1