Give Me Just A Little More Time - Chairmen Of The Board
Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) - The Delfonics
The Bells - The Originals
Turn Back The Hands Of Time - Tyrone Davis
Love On A Two-Way Street - The Moments
Band Of Gold - Freda Payne
O-O-H Child - The 5 Stairsteps
Westbound #9 - The Flaming Ember
Maybe - The Three Degrees
The Sly, Slick And The Wicked - The Lost Generation
War - Edwin Starr
Somebody's Been Sleeping - 100 Proof Aged In Soul
Express Yourself - Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhtythm Band
Precious, Precious - Jackie Moore
Funky Nassau Part I - The Beginning Of The End
Groove Me - King Floyd
I Love You For All Seasons - The Fuzz
Want Ads - Honey Cone
Cool Aid - Paul Humphrey & His Cool Aid Chemists
Track Listings (23) - Disc #2
Don't Knock My Love Pt. I - WilsonPickett
Love Or Let Me Be Lonely - The Friends Of Distinction
Deeper & Deeper - Freda Payne
Pay To The Piper - Chairmen Of The Board
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
Women's Love Rights - Laura Lee
Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - The Dramatics
Baby Let Me Kiss You - King Floyd
Right On The Tip Of My Tongue - Brenda & The Tabulations
Thin Line Between Love & Hate - The Persuaders
Have You Seen Her - Chi-Lites
Theme From "Shaft" - Isaac Hayes
Respect Yourself - The Staple Singers
Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Clean Up Woman - Betty Wright
One Monkey Don't Stop No Show Part I - Honey Cone
Drowning In The Sea Of Love - Joe Simon
Ain't Understanding Mellow - Jerry Butler & Brenda Lee Eager
I've Been Lonely For So Long - Frederick Knight
Suavecito - Malo
Hearsay - The Soul Children
She's Not Just Another Woman - The 8th Day
Track Listings (21) - Disc #3
I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers
In The Rain - The Dramatics
Betcha By Golly, Wow - The Stylistics
Oh Girl - Chi-Lites
Lean On Me - Bill Withers
I Gotcha - Joe Tex
Do Your Thing - Isaac Hayes
I'll Be Around - Spinners
Too Late To Turn Back Now - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right - Luther Ingram
Starting All Over Again - Mel & Tim
Back Stabbers - O'Jays
You're Still A Young Man - Tower Of Power
Everybody Plays The Fool - The Main Ingredient
Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield
I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
If You Don't Know Me By Now - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Love Jones - Brighter Side Of Darkness
Me And Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - The Temptations
Outa-Space - Billy Preston
Track Listings (23) - Disc #4
Could it Be I'm Falling In Love - Spinners
Use Me - Bill Withers
Love Train - O'Jays
Why Can't We Live Together - Timmy Thomas
Ain't no Woman (Like The One I've Got) - Four Tops
I'm Doin' Fine Now - New York City
Pillow Talk - Sylvia
So Very Hard To Go - Tower Of Power
Natural High - Bloodstone
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
That Lady Part I - The Isley Brothers
Keep On Truckin' Part I - Eddie Kendricks
Hurts So Good - Millie Jackson
Midnight Train To Georgia - Gladys Knight & The Pips
I Can't Stand The Rain - Ann Peebles
The World Is A Ghetto - War
Tell Her She's Lovely - El Chicano
The Love I Lost Part I - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Cheaper To Keep Her - Johnnie Taylor
Show And Tell - Al Wilson
Lookin' For A Love - Bobby Womack
Be Thankful For What you Got - William DeVaughn
Just Don't Want To Be Lonely - The Main Ingredient
Track Listings (23) - Disc #5
The Payback Part I - James Brown
Hollywood Swinging - Kool & The Gang
Sideshow - Blue Magic
Rock The Boat - The Hues Corporation
Finally Got Myself Together (I'm A Changed Man) - The Impressions
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Tell Me Something Good - Rufus
Yes We Can Can - The Pointer Sisters
Hang On In There Baby - Johnny Bristol
Do It (Til You're Satisfied) - B.T. Express
You Little Trustmaker - The Tymes
Lovin' You - Minnie Riperton
Woman To Woman - Shirley Brown
Everlasting Love - Carl Carlton
When Will I See You Again - The Three Degrees
Pick Up The Pieces - AWB
Lady Marmalade - LaBelle
Walking In Rhythm - The Blackbyrds
Supernatural Thing Part I - Ben E. King
Reasons - Earth, Wind & Fire
Rockin' Chair - Gwen McCrae
I Wanna Get Next To You - Rose Royce
Love Won't Let Me Wait - Major Harris
Track Listings (21) - Disc #6
Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
Express - B.T. Express
Cut The Cake - AWB
Why Can't We Be Friends? - War
So In Love - Curtis Mayfield
Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players
It Only Takes A Minute - Tavares
Movin' - Brass Construction
Kiss And Say Goodbye - Manhattans
You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Lou Rawls
Dazz - Brick
Best Of My Love - Emotions
Strawberry Letter 23 - The Brothers Johnson
Float On - The Floaters
Always And Forever - Heatwave
(Everytime I Turn Around) Back In Love Again - L.T.D.
You And I - Rick James
What You Won't Do For Love - Bobby Caldwell
Reunited - Peaches & Herb
Cruisin' - Smokey Robinson
Golden Touch - Rose Royce
The liner notes that accompany this collection note that '70s soul music has never really gotten its due. One could argue that point for days, but hubris aside, there's no denying that Can You Dig It pays serious homage to... more » the golden years of American soul. The new box set contains 6 CDs and 136 cuts, 65 of which hit the No. 1 spot on the R&B and/or pop charts. As you'd expect with a project that mines such a rich era (the CDs are compiled chronologically), it represents a who's who of stars. Among the notables: Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, the Spinners, the O'Jays, the Staple Singers, James Brown, Chairmen of the Board, Laura Lee, Freda Payne, and Jean Knight. Lesser lights also get to shine, i.e., El Chicano, who deliver the salsafied hippie anthem "Tell Her She's Lovely." But let's be honest--the selling point is the hits, and from the uplifting "Ooh Child" to the sassy "Want Ads," if you grew up in the '70s (hands up), then these tracks are beloved. Sure, the hard-core fan will probably wish for more obscurities, and the exclusion of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and George Clinton is troublesome, but anyone wanting an at-home jukebox loaded with classic R&B will certainly dig this. --Amy Linden« less
The liner notes that accompany this collection note that '70s soul music has never really gotten its due. One could argue that point for days, but hubris aside, there's no denying that Can You Dig It pays serious homage to the golden years of American soul. The new box set contains 6 CDs and 136 cuts, 65 of which hit the No. 1 spot on the R&B and/or pop charts. As you'd expect with a project that mines such a rich era (the CDs are compiled chronologically), it represents a who's who of stars. Among the notables: Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, the Spinners, the O'Jays, the Staple Singers, James Brown, Chairmen of the Board, Laura Lee, Freda Payne, and Jean Knight. Lesser lights also get to shine, i.e., El Chicano, who deliver the salsafied hippie anthem "Tell Her She's Lovely." But let's be honest--the selling point is the hits, and from the uplifting "Ooh Child" to the sassy "Want Ads," if you grew up in the '70s (hands up), then these tracks are beloved. Sure, the hard-core fan will probably wish for more obscurities, and the exclusion of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and George Clinton is troublesome, but anyone wanting an at-home jukebox loaded with classic R&B will certainly dig this. --Amy Linden
"I love this cd box set, and I love the way it looks! Rhino has done a good job of capturing the look, sound, and feel of 70's soul music with this attractive six cd collection. I love how they made the outside of the box look like an old 8 track tape rack! And it's great to hear songs like Betcha By Golly Wow, I'll Be There, Rainy Night in Georgia, War, Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time, Family Affair, Let's Stay Together, and so many others once again. I felt like it was 1973 all over again!I do have one minor complaint: Over 20 of these songs are on another Rhino Box set that I have called "Have a Nice Decade." I felt a little cheated, that Rhino could have sampled some other songs. Moreover, there were some great soul artists that didn't have songs represented on this collection at all: Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, and a few others. But this is still an excellent collection, and if you love 70's soul music, you might want to splurge and buy it."
Great Songs and Package, Marred By The Rhino Knife
prymel | Anaheim, CA USA | 12/28/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As is typical with Rhino compilations, the song choices are excellent, but, unfortunately (and also typically), they saw fit to chop them down to the radio edits in many cases. This isn't as big a deal on Rhino's "Pop Culture" boxes, because many Top 40 songs are so well-known in their radio-edited form, that most folks won't even miss the longer album versions, or even know or care that they exist. But many soul songs from this era benefited from the breathing room they received from the additional length on the original albums, and chopping them to fit a compilation dulls the impact of the emotion, the message, or simply the groove.Nevertheless, this is a good starting point for those wanting to sample the great soul tunes and artists of the 70's."
I can dig it ...
matthewslaughter | Arlington, VA USA | 11/23/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Born in 1975, many of the songs on "Can You Dig It" bring me back to some of my earliest memories. "Rock the Boat," "Strawberry Letter 23," "I'll Take You There," "Why Can't We Be Friends," etc. Of course, this box sets lacks songs by Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, but the people who would dish out this amount of money for this set probably already have their great albums. I am glad that the staples of the genre are underrepresented (Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Sly and the Family Stone, Isaac Hayes, Isley Brothers, James Brown etc.) because that gives more room for the "one-hit" wonders and less familiar acts. Also, growing up listening to pre-sample litigation rap records like "Paul's Boutique" and "Straight Outta Compton," many of the songs (which I had not heard in their entirety) sampled on those records appear here--"Express Yourself," "Be Thankful for What You Got," "That Lady," and others. I'm reminded of Steve Harvey's monologue about soul music in Spike Lee's "The Original Kings of Comedy." Many of these songs (like "Me and Mrs. Jones" and "Betcha By Golly Wow") express "soul" and "love" in ways that much of today's rap records don't. (This remark is not a condemnation of rap music but simply an observation.) This set is a time capsule, filled in an imitation eight-track cassette (remember them?) case, chock-full of great songs you either love, loved, forgotten, or never heard at all."
I love it
Melissa Garland | O'Fallon, MO United States | 02/21/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Recommended listening. Sandwiched in time between the Motown of the 60s and the emergence of rap in the 80s is the forgotten cool of 70s soul. I remember these songs from watching Soul Train after American Bandstand and Casey Casem's Top 10, and was delighted with the richness of the sound and song. Makes me almost embarrassed by what I listened to as a teenager in the 80s, it doesn't hold up as well as the songs in this collection. Even if you don't like soul, R&B, get it anyway if you can. It will broaden you horizons. Added bonus is the booklet that accompanies the grammy-nominated packaging - you will enjoy every aspect of this set."
CAN YOU DIG IT!!!
kamrose | Detroit | 12/28/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Can you dig it? Can I dig it? Yes, I can! This CD set is wonderful. I received it as a gift and I couldn't be happier. The collection is thorough, very diverse and fun, fun, fun!. How great it must have been to put this groovy bunch of songs together. Included are the songs I grew up with and still listen to, along with several that had been forgotten, but brought back a lot of AM memories. My complaints would be the lack of Aretha and Stevie Wonder. Also, Earth, Wind and Fire's Shining Star and Reasons are part of this collection, but are separated. Shining Star doesn't sound right if it's not followed by Reasons. The only truly lousy song (out of over 100!) is Lovin You by Minnie Riperton. I tired of this one in the 70's. Couldn't it have been replaced by Aretha, Stevie or even the Jackson 5? BUY THIS SET, BUY IT NOW - IT'S A GAS!"