Various Artists - Chess Rhythm & Roll (1994) [4CDs Box Set]

In addition to being one of the world’s premier blues imprints, Chicago-based Chess Records presented some of rock & roll’s earliest participants. Chess Rhythm & Roll (1994) is a five-plus hour celebration of essential proto-rockers cut between 1947 and 1967. The four-CD assemblage is a companion to the Chess Blues (1992) box set and picks up during the label’s formative days when their repertoire was expanding to a greater audience beyond the realm of R&B. Boasting a total of 99 selections, this collection far exceeds your average “oldies” package, charting the course from ensembles including the jumpin’ and jivin’ Five Blazes — whose “Chicago Boogie” commences the festivities — to the plethora of talent who fused their own unique performance styles to create the foundation of practically every note of popular music that followed. It goes without saying that prolific pioneers Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry have significant spin time. However, it is the attention given to lesser-known artists and “one-hit wonders” that makes the anthology required listening for enthusiasts of all stripes and respective tastes. While the track list tells the story completely and perhaps more succinctly, it only intimates the impact of platters such as Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88,” Willie Mabon’s “I Don’t Know,” Sugar Boy Crawford’s “Jock-A-Mo,” the Moonglows’ “Sincerely,” Clarence “Frogman” Henry’s “Ain’t Got No Home,” Clifton Chenier’s “The Big Wheel,” Dale Hawkins’ “Suzie-Q,” the Monotones’ “Book of Love,” Tommy Tucker’s “High Heel Sneakers” and scores of others found here. Before the artists made names for themselves on Atlantic Records, Chess likewise introduced listeners to Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice, who were bandmates in the Falcons (“This Heart of Mine”), not to mention future Motown superstars Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (“All I Want Is You”) and the Four Tops (“Country Girl”) — all of whom got their start on Chess. Slipped in among the classics are no less than 39 rarities, 14 of which are debuted in this omnibus. The sonics are superior, as is the accompanying 64-page booklet, housing reams of photos as well as thorough credits and fact-filled song-by-song annotations. To call Chess Rhythm & Roll essential is an understatement by any measure of the word. ― Allmusic

CD 1 – 1947-1955
01. The Five Blazes – Chicago Boogie – 02:55
02. Clarence Samuels – Boogie Woogie Blues – 02:42
03. The Dozier Boys – Hey Jack – 03:09
04. Earl & His BLues Rockers – Little Boy, Little Boy – 03:00
05. Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats – Rocket 88 – 02:51
06. Rosco Gordon – Booted – 03:05
07. Jackie Brenston – Leo The Louse – 02:33
08. Bobby Lewis – Mumbles Blues – 02:29
09. Willie Mabon – I Don’t kNow – 03:10
10. Mitzi Mars – Roll ‘Em – 02:38
11. Danny Overbea – Train, Train, Train – 03:12
12. Sugar Boy Crawford – Jock-A-Mo – 02:27
13. The Coronets – Should I – 03:04
14. Jimmy Binkley & His Combo – Wine, Wine, Wine – 02:33
15. Leon D. Tarver & The Chordones – I’m A Young Rooster – 02:44
16. The El Rays – Darling I Know – 02:55
17. The Swans – Will You Be Mine – 02:28
18. Larry Liggett – The Man Is Walking – 02:45
19. The Daps – Love Your Lovin’ Ways – 02:04
20. Sincerely – The Moonglows – 03:12
21. Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley – 02:45
22. The Flamingos – Need Your Love (alternate) – 02:45
23. Chuck Berry – Maybellene – 02:22
24. The Moonglows – No One – 02:24
25. Paul Gayten – If You Love Me, Tell Me So – 02:39

CD 2 – 1955-1957
01. Bobby Charles – See You Later Alligator – 02:51
02. Bobby Tuggle – The $64,000 Question – 02:12
03. The Flamingos – I’ll Be Home – 02:56
04. Bullmoose Jackson – Heavyweight Baby – 02:04
05. Chuck Berry – Too Much Monkey Business – 02:56
06. Bo Diddley – Who Do You Love – 02:30
07. Earl Hooker – Frog Hop – 02:25
08. The Four Tops – Country Girl – 02:05
09. The Moonglows – See Saw – 02:27
10. Stanley Mitchell & The Tornados – Four O’Clock In The Morning – 02:35
11. Bobby Charles – Laura Lee – 02:11
12. Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry – Ain’t Got No Home – 02:22
13. Clifton Chenier – The Big Wheel (Squeeze Box Shuffle) – 02:51
14. The Pastels – Been So Long – 02:43
15. Chuck Berry – School Day – 02:45
16. Johnnie & Joe – Over The Mountain, Across The Sea – 02:19
17. Jody Williams – Lucky Lou – 03:48
18. The Tune Weavers – Happy, Happy Birthday Baaby – 02:19
19. Dale Hawkins – Suzie Q – 02:15
20. Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry – Lady With The Hat Box – 02:01
21. Paul Gayten – Nervous Boogie – 02:18
22. Dick Glasser – Crazy Love – 02:30
23. Eddie Bo – Walk That Walk – 01:48
24. T.V. Slim – Flatfoot Sam – 02:13
25. Lee Andrews & The Harts – Teardrops – 02:23

CD 3 – 1957-1959
01. G.L. Crockett – Look Out Mabel – 02:40
02. The Monotones – Book Of Love – 02:21
03. Jimmy Nelson – Mr. Big Wheel – 02:29
04. Eddie Fontaine – Nothin’s Shakin’ (But The Leaves On The Trees) – 02:56
05. Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode – 02:42
06. Bo Diddley – Say Man – 03:16
07. Jimmy McCracklin – Everybody Rock (The New Orleans Beat) – 02:24
08. The Kents – I Found My Girl – 01:53
09. The Students – I’m So Young – 02:32
10. Bo Diddley – I Love You So – 02:32
11. Johnny Fuller – You Got Me Whistlin’ – 02:11
12. The Brothers – Lazy Susan – 02:06
13. Dale Hawkins – La-Do-Dada – 02:35
14. Chuck Berry – Do You Love Me – 02:23
15. Rusty York – Sugaree – 02:43
16. Bo Diddley – What Do You Know About Love? – 03:15
17. Sugar Pie DeSanto – I Want To Know – 03:04
18. Oscar Boyd & The Calvaes – Anna Macora – 02:25
19. The Sonics – This Broken Heart – 03:04
20. Billy ‘The Kid’ Emerson – Um Huh My Baby – 02:55
21. The Falcons – This Heart Of Mine – 02:58
22. Gene Simmons – Goin’ Back To Memphis – 03:01
23. Rod Bernard – This Should Go On Forever – 02:47
24. Chuck Berry – Let It Rock – 01:48
25. The Miracles – All I Want Is You – 02:41

CD 4 – 1960-1967
01. Etta James – At Last – 03:02
02. L.C. Cooke – I Need Your Love – 02:29
03. Etta & Harvey – My Heart Cries – 02:34
04. The Sensations – Let Me In – 03:05
05. Little Milton – Saving My Love For You – 02:54
06. The Marathons – Peanut Butter – 02:01
07. The Vibrations – You’re Mine – 02:24
08. The Corsairs – Smokey Places – 03:02
09. The Tune Weavers – Your Skies Of Blue – 02:25
10. Billy Stewart – Reap What You Sow – 02:26
11. Bo Diddley – You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover – 03:11
12. Jan Bradley – Mama Didn’t Lie – 02:03
13. Cookie & His Cupcakes – Got You On My Mind – 02:34
14. Tommy Tucker – High Heel Sneakers – 02:51
15. The Gems – That’s What They Put Erasers On Pencils For – 02:03
16. The Jaynetts – Sally Go ‘Round The Roses – 03:00
17. Chuck Berry – No Particplar Place To Go – 02:43
18. Bill & Will – Goin’ To The River – 02:28
19. Fontella Bass & Bobby McClure – Don’t Mess Up A Good Thing – 03:01
20. Little Milton – Who’s Cheatin’ Who? – 02:57
21. Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces – Seaching For My Love – 02:32
22. Big Maybelle – Maybelle Sings the Blues – 03:28
23. The Dells – O-O I Love You – 03:20
24. Etta James – Tell Mama – 02:22

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CD LOGS
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LMA_VA.1994.CR&R_CD1.rar
LMA_VA.1994.CR&R_CD1.rar
LMA_VA.1994.CR&R_CD2.rar
LMA_VA.1994.CR&R_CD3.rar
LMA_VA.1994.CR&R_CD4.rar
LMA_VA.1994.CR&R_Scans.rar
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