Search - Crusaders :: Way Back Home

Well Worth Every Penny!

E. N. Cook | Montgomery, Alabama USA | 06/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"OK, I know Box Sets are expensive, and you want to know you are getting your money's worth. No worry here! If you like "The Crusaders", jazz, jazz-funk, or just good music (Duke Ellington said there are only two kinds of music - good and bad!), this is an AWESOME 4 disc set of great music. Just put all four discs in your changer and groove for hours! You won't hit the skip button on a single song. This group was the epitome of jazz-funk of the 60's and 70's. I cannot say enough about this set. It was the best music dollars I have ever spent."

"Way Back Home", what a nice place to be...

Jeffrey Harris | South San Francisco, CA United States | 06/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first comprehensive package of The Crusaders groundbreaking work covers all aspects of the groups career. Spread over four CD's, this set covers their early recordings on Pacific Jazz and Chisa(when it was distributed by Motown), but the real meat of this package are the groups work that was originally released on Blue Thumb and MCA. Most notable are the seven tracks from The Crusaders inexplicably out-of-print(domestically) 1971 classic "Crusaders 1". The funky "Put It Where You Want It" defines jazz/funk, and their excellent cover of Carole King's "So Far Away" are definite highlights. Other great tracks include, "A Ballad For Joe (Louis)", " Scratch", and "Street Life". The box itself is 12 x 12 square and opens up like a hardcover book. The package was supervised by The Crusaders long time producer Stewart Levine and features a nicely annotated booklet, with photos and a great overview of the group's history. Long time fans will love this set. New fans discovering this innovative bands' work for the first time, you won't be disappointed."

Great music, strange packaging

Dick K | Centreville, VA United States | 03/24/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The music on this set is terrific and the choice of music to put here is excellent. If you have an album/CD or two of the Crusaders and are looking for an easy way to survey their career then this collection is made for you and you'll not be disappointed. The musicianship and sound quality are first-rate throughout, no complaints there. I have two minor complaints. First the track order _may_ have made sense to whoever assembled this but not to me. Its not chronological nor is it in any other logical sequence that I can figure out. Within an indivdual CD, tracks are arranged in groups by the original release, but material from the same LP often appears on more than one CD. It may be that there was an attempt to group similar sounding tracks together--in any case, it makes it less useful as a history of the group but sounds fine. Second, the packaging is a flat box with the size of an LP--fine if you have LP-sized storage, not-so-good if your storage is CD-sized.Despite the niggles, and they are that, this is a set of great music and I enjoy it a lot. If you like jazz fusion, so will you!"