Mammoth box set of Bay Area bands from 1965-1970, practically every Bay Area band of note, with the exception of Creedence Clearwater Revival, is included, along with many now forgotten groups.
There are some really amazing tracks by obscure acts like Frumious Bandersnatch and Fifty Foot Hose. The drawback to this release is that the biggest acts, like Santana or The Jefferson Airplane, are usually represented by their biggest and most predictable hits, and some of the songs will no doubt be too familiar to anyone who would want to listen to this album. I mean, people interested in purchasing or hearing this box set are highly unlikely to want to because " White Rabbit, " " Get Together' and The We Five's " You Were On My Mind" are here.
Also, some of the big acts, like The Steve Miller Band, have pretty weak choices for songs on this. Conversely, Quicksilver Messenger Service's absolutely outstanding take on Buffy Saint- Marie's classic " Codeine," from a long forgotten period piece called " Revolution" is a slightly offbeat but great choice for this collection.
The box set is eclectic and diverse: everything from garage/ 60's punk like The Count Five and The Syndicate of Sound, to San Francisco legends like Moby Grape, Country Joe and The Fish and It's A Beautiful Day, to the folk -rock of Blackburn and Snow and the hard psychedelia of Mad River and Savage Resurrection can be found on this box set. Four stars.
