Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. All I Could Do Was Cry
2. If I Can't Have You
3. My Dearest Darling
4. Spoonful
5. At Last
6. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
7. Trust In Me
8. Fool That I Am
9. Don't Cry Baby
10. A Sunday Kind Of Love
11. Something's Got A Hold Of Me
12. Waiting For Charlie (To Come Home)
13. Stop The Wedding
14. Next Door To The Blues
15. Would It Make A Difference To You
16. In My Diary
17. Stormy Weather
18. These Fooish Things

Disc 2:

1. Pushover
2. Pay Back
3. Two Sides (To Every Story)
4. Baby What You Want Me To Do
5. Loving You More Everyday
6. Breaking Point
7. Bobby Is His Name
8. Do I Make Myself Clear
9. Only Time Will Tell
10. In The Basement Part 1
11. I Prefer You
12. It Must Be Your Love
13. 842-3089 (Call My Name)
14. I'd Rather Go Blind
15. Tell Mama
16. I Wish Someone Would Care
17. Do Right Woman Do Right Man
18. Light My Fire

Disc 3:

1. Security
2. I'm Gonna Take What He's Got
3. I Worship The Ground You Walk On
4. You Got It
5. I Got You Babe
6. Almost Persuaded
7. Miss Pitiful
8. Tighten Up Your Own Thing
9. Losers Weepers Part 1
10. I Found A Love
11. Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing
12. W.O.M.A.N
13. All The Way Down
14. Leave Your Hat On
15. Out On The Street Again
16. Lovin' Arms
17. Never My Love

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2592 in Music
• Released on: 2005-05-30
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Box set
• Dimensions: .66 pounds
• Running time: 158 minutes

Customer Reviews

What a voice!
I bought this 3 disc compilation set over the single CD version, because it features all of the songs plus about 30 more for hardly any more money. Was it a good buy? You bet! Etta James is one of the best soul singers, especially if you like you soul a little bit on the bluesy side. 'At last' is worth the cost of the CD alone, but there are about 50 more great tracks in this set-you can't lose.

Fully recommended
Etta James was with Chess for over fifteen years (appearing initially on their subsidiary labels Argo and Cadet) between 1960 and 1976, adapting and rolling with the times, trying out new ideas, never selling out, and making a heap of great blues and soul records. If squeezing fifteen years of material onto just three discs seems a tall order, imagine the absurdity of trying to compile The Best Of Etta James, which is a single CD of her Chess years. This box set represents far better value and is fully recommended, with just a couple of small caveats.

Firstly, there are too many mono mixes, even from the nineteen-seventies when stereo versions were prepared as a matter of course and are available elsewhere, and secondly, there is too little detailed documentation.

Finally, whilst I have no quarrel at all with the title, The Very Best Of Etta James, the subtitle The Chess Singles is just misleading. Some A-sides are absent, seven B-sides are included (just as well, as these include All I Could Do Was Cry, I Just Want To Make Love To You and I'd Rather Go Blind) and contrarily there are several album tracks and even a couple of outtakes that weren't released at the time at all. These include her brilliant version of Do Right Woman, Do Right Man recorded at Muscle Shoals and inexplicably left in the can until 1993.

This collection would be well complemented by Miss Etta James - The Complete Kent And Modern Recordings, the period before she signed to Chess. It's worth remembering that when these days artists are expected to be at their peak after one single, singers like Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Etta James had been learning their craft for several years before becoming established, and Etta James' first single appeared in 1955.

Best value ever..
Etta James was one of the first and best singers to combine soul and blues in a style sufficiently commercial to appeal to fans of both genres. This album delivers a huge feast of Etta's work and represents superb value for money. Even if some of the recordings are a bit on the thin side, they evoke memories of the times they were made. Terrific.