Close but no cigar
art-ificial | San Francisco, CA United States | 09/04/2002
(2 out of 5 stars)
"After having the market flooded with nearly four thousand box sets, how is one to choose? I went with this one thinking it was going to be nice and funky interpretations of American soul songs, but instead am left with three cds of bland covers. It's like listening to a Jamaican wedding band. The tracks are just straight covers with a little skanky upbeat thrown in for the "foreign spice". The only cd worth listening to is the second one, devoted to 'funk'. This is actually pretty enjoyable. Disc one (motown) and disc three (love songs) are so boring I couldn't keep my finger off the fast forward button on my remote control. If you're into funky interpretations of American soul or soulful reggae, stick to the SoulJazz label's 100% comps or the Studio One Soul collections. Much more worth your money, even if you are only getting one cd for the one cd price."
Every groovin bassist should own this!
W. V. Gore | 11/16/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you can play most of these soul standards, imagine throwing in the reggae rhythm section. This box is great. James Brown's "make it funky" becomes "make it reggae"! "Aint no sunshine" and the marvin gaye tune are excellent. This is also nonstop fun. I bought this before a long drive and had to figure out what each tune was in the first couple of measures. Soul and groove are definitely here. If you dont dig it you must be bloodless! Quality of guitarists in Jamaica must be a little weak though!"