LITTLE ROCK — Record companies, like the musicians they record and promote, have fans.
Some labels have a distinct sound that inspires devotion - the electric blues of Alligator, the classic pop/soul of the Motown sound, the raw and rootsy leanings of Bloodshot and Yep Roc, the striking eclecticism of Anti-, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s distinctly soulful Philadelphia International, the classic jazz of Impulse and the progressive jazz of ECM.
When a label reflects on its legacy, it often manifests in many disc boxed sets that seek to provide a road map of the company's musical path. Devoted fans have high expectations on selections, rarities, packaging, booklets and sequencing.
American roots music devotee Rounder, ’70s jazz giant CTI and Apple, which was started byThe Beatles, have taken different approaches as they address their legacies.
The Apple Records boxed set, Capitol, 17 CDs, $336.99
Apple Records was adventurous and imaginative. The Apple Records boxed set isn’t.
It crams 17 CDs (all of which have been released individually) into a box as flimsy as the one your cereal comes in.
It doesn’t have a book to reflect on how Apple operated and its influence. No photos. No discography or release dates. No DVD that could have been a cool scrapbook of Apple history or live performances. Individual albums in the set have booklets, but there’s no overview of Apple itself.
There are bright spots: a two-CD set of rarities and a new compilation, Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records.
The remastering is very good. There are 16 studio albums here, recorded between 1968 and 1974. They include James Taylor’s self titled debut; two by Mary Hopkin, including Post Card, which has her hit “Those Were the Days”; four Badfinger albums; two by Billy Preston; two by John Tavener; two by the Modern Jazz Quartet; and one each by Doris Troy, Jackie Lomax and the Radha Krishna Temple.
Most have bonus tracks; some are new, some carried over from previous incarnations. Fans will quibble over what’s not here, including work by Elephant’s Memory.
For the casual fan, I’d recommend Come and Get It: The Best of Apple Records, which includes “Those Were the Days” by Hopkin, “Day After Day” by Badfinger, “Try Some Buy Some” by Ronnie Spector and “Carolina in My Mind” by Taylor. A real jewel is Preston’s take on Beatle George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.”
CTI Records: The Cool Revolution, Sony Masterworks, four CDs, $49.98
In the 1970s, CTI Records - named for owner and producer Creed Taylor - was admired for its progressive approach(keep musical integrity and be accessible), quality productions and stunning Pete Turner photos that made CTI’s album covers so very cool. It was jazz for the masses, in Taylor’s vision.
This comprehensive overview spreads across four themed discs. The first disc, Straight Up, is more traditional in its approach, with selections by Hubert Laws, Freddie Hubbard, George Benson and Chet Baker (an enchanting “Autumn Leaves”).
Deep Grooves/Big Hits, the second disc, has CTI’s creative crossovers, including Deodato’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (No. 2 in 1973), George Benson’s fine take on Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit” and Johnny Hammond’s spacious version of Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.” The highlight is Esther Phillips’ unsettling version of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson’s “Home Is Where the Hatred Is.”
Disc three, The Brazilian Connection, underscores Taylor’s role in bringing Brazilian music to America while with Verve Records in the early ’60s. This disc features tunes by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Deodato and Airto. American jazzers playing Brazilian music include Paul Desmond (a cool “Wave”) and Milt Jackson.
Cool and Classic, disc four, has Hubert Laws’ wondrous version of Faure’s “Pavane,” Baker’s “What’ll I Do,” Benson’s version of “Take Five” and Don Sebesky and Desmond’s nice take on Joni Mitchell’s “Song to a Seagull.”
What’s missing? Something from Quincy Jones' Walking in Space and Milton Nascimento’s Courage or anything by Idris Muhammad, Patti Austin and Nina Simone. There is plenty for a second volume.
The vinyl album-size packaging shows 32 of the label’s album covers. The booklet has too-brief, but informative, liner notes, and provides details on session musicians and recording dates for each tune.
The Rounder Records Story, Rounder, four CDs, $49.98
Most of us know Rounder Records as the home of Alison Krauss and her best-selling recordings with Union Station and Robert Plant, jazz/pop singer Madeleine Peyroux, rocker George Thorogood and New Orleans’ great soul singer Irma Thomas.
But the founders of Rounder had a mission from the get-go: record the depth and variety of American roots music. And now, 40 years later, Rounder’s impressive catalog of bluegrass, old-time fiddlers, blues, roots rock, rockabilly, Cajun, New Orleans soul and more is testimony to that vision and focus.
This four-CD set, each disc devoted to a decade, has 87 tunes that reflect the depth and breadth of the label’s catalog.This allows one to enjoy the evolution of Rounder’s vision and how it embraced many of the vital artists of American music.
Disc one (the 1970s) treats include folkie Ola Belle Reed’s “High on a Mountain,” J.D. Crowe and the New South’s “Old Home Place,” The Balfa Freres’ “Parlez-Nous a Boire,” David Grisman’s “I Ain’t Broke But I’m Badly Bent” and Thorogood’s “Who Do You Love?”
The 1980s disc has New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair’s rollicking “Tipitina,” Keith Whitley’s wondrous vocal on Lefty Frizzell’s “I Never Go Around Mirrors,” Nanci Griffith’s “Once in a Very Blue Moon” and Brave Combo’s “Happy Wanderer.”
In the 1990s, Krauss was catching fire nationally with “Baby, Now That I’ve FoundYou.” Also on disc three: Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s “One Endless Night,” Charles Brown’s “A Virus Called the Blues” and Ruth Brown’s “False Friend Blues.”
The final disc includes choice songs by hot bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent, rockers Son Volt, Willie Nelson, Irma Thomas, Plant and Krauss, Rhonda Vincent and Steve Martin.
Liner notes by music journalist Geoff Himes have depth and are informative, contributing greatly to this boxed set’s success.
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Style, Pages 29 on 11/30/2010