WOW, This is the real thing...The motherlode...Incredible!!! Sure the Complete Stax Volt Singles 6-CD box set gives you every single released up until Atlantic pulled out as their national distributor. The Atlantic Rhythm & Blues collection covers the years 1947-1974 and includes numerous artists of the late forties and fifties like Ruth Brown, Al Hibler, Big Joe Thorton, Lavern Baker and Ray Charles. Then there's the Rhino box set, Thirty Years of Rhythm and Blues, a great retrospective in that it crosses over numerous labels and artists. This is a great place to explore the diversity of styles covering all the great regional styles from Motown to Philly to Memphis.

But if your bent is hard driving, gut wrenching, R&B with a pinch of gospel and soul, then look no further. This collection is the bomb. With 98 (count 'em...98) bonifide super soul hits, this is positively essential for any collector. Five Stars just scratches the surface. This one should get 98 Stars (count 'em...98) one for every great single in this marvelous set.

This set provides a welcome alternative to the pricey Complete Singles Vols. 1-3 box sets. This set is four discs. The first disc contains 26 well known Stax hits. The second disc highlights the Atlantic distribution period 1960-68. It contains lesser known singles and album tracks. Disc 3 highlights the years Mid 1968-1973 with more obscure singles and album tracks. The last disc is a sort of a live "Best of the Stax/Volt Soul Revue". All four discs are filled to capacity which is a good value. The 64 page booklet is well annotated with chart positions and contains rare photos of lp covers and promo literature as well as photos of some of the artists included in the set. The set highlghts not only the tight playing of Booker T. & the MGs but also the excellent songwriting of the Stax writers including; the MGs, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, Eddie Floyd, Mack Rice et al. Highlights abound with Albert King, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, the Staple Singers and others. The lesser known cuts by the stars are just as good or better in some cases, than their hits. Some of the more obscure artists included such as the Mad Lads and Ollie & the Nightingales are highlighted with excellent cuts. Someone might have a quibble with the track selection but if so think about investing in cds by the individual artists or the much more expensive singles collections. This is an interesting and judiciously chosen sampler of one of the best soul/funk labels of the sixties and early seventies. If you like this set I highly recommend the "Otis: The Definitive Otis Redding" 4 cd box set on Rhino and "Time Is Tight" a 3 cd Booker T. & The MGs box set from Fantasy.

This is great. Period. If you're into soul & funk, you need this in your collection. It's got everything you want, and then some. The graphic design of the packaging is terrific, too.

If you want just the very best of Stax/Volt, get this box: you'll be in good hands. About 95% of the very best these labels had to offer is here, and the price is right. If I tell you I wish they had included "The Preacher and the Bear" by Rufus Thomas, you'll know I'm just being picky. But since I am picky, I will say that this box is weighted towards the first years of the labels, but hey, that's when the big hits came. A note to the discerning: what on this site is called "Big Ford" is in fact the magnificent Eddie Floyd non-hit "Big Bird."