This five CD set, packaged in a deluxe digipak with an outer slip case, features 135 tracks all remastered and including alternate takes of well-known recordings. All unissued and alternate take records are from Peter Moody's private collection, many of which are otherwise unavailable

The set includes a 94-page book, featuring an essay by renowned blues historian Mike Rowe on the post war Chicago scene; over fifty rare period photographs illustrate the essay. Full track details, as well as full “sessionography” are also included. There is even a feature page section on some of the artists and a five-page gallery of original 78 and 45 record labels.

Continuing the mix of well-known artists to the lesser-known, all the recordings are prime Chicago masterworks. With big hitters like Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, all their tracks are alternate takes or originally unissued masters by the record companies, most of which are currently not available on release. Mixing with these three are many more stars of this down-home genre including Albert King, Jimmy Reed and Memphis Minnie, again with alternate recordings of their best well-known music. In this golden age of blues, there were so many superb recordings being made it was impossible to issue many of them into the singles record buying market place. Eventually when the new long-playing albums began to surface, they began to cater for this wealth of music when recording in later years.

- Charlie Lange

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