by albums data-base
Limited seven CD box set spanning the entire career of
singer/songwriter Jim Croce and featuring all the studio recorded albums as
well as a bonus disc of demo recordings.
Croce's untimely death in an aeroplane crash (in September
1973, at just the age of 30 years old) came at a point in his career when he
seemed set for a lengthy and rewarding career.
This box is the first time all the studio albums have ever
been brought together in a single package, from the self-released debut Facets,
recorded and released for just $500 - a wedding gift from Jim's parents - to
"I Got a Name," which was released posthumously after his death
whilst on tour promoting the previous album.
Discs Two and Three are collaborations with his wife Ingrid,
and Discs Four, Five and Six were are recorded for and released by ABC Records.
The final bonus disc of this set features demo recordings
including those which when presented to ABC Records secured the deal for the
albums.
The booklet which is the eight piece in this set, includes
the lyrics and comprehensive 5000 word note by Alan Robinson.
Sound quality is excellent, including on the early stuff
that only more serious fans have heard. The tremendous talent is obvious in
Jim's hit songs we all know and love from the 70s, but you may be surprised at
how much you like the earlier albums with Ingrid.
The producers of those earlier albums didn't do Jim and Ing
any favors (I'll charitably say the production values are mediocre), but the
quality of the performances shines through nonetheless.
In the music industry, arguably the worst tragedy that can
befall an artist is to die in his or her prime, when just beginning to break
through to the mainstream and reach people on a national or international
level. One such artist was Jim Croce, a songwriter with a knack for both
upbeat, catchy singles and empathetic, melancholy ballads.
Though Croce only recorded a few studio albums before an
untimely plane crash, he continues to be remembered posthumously.
Croce appealed to fans as a common man, and it was not a
gimmick -- he was a father and husband who went through a series of blue-collar
jobs. And whether he used dry wit, gentle emotions, or sorrow, Croce sang with
a rare form of honesty and power. Few artists have ever been able to pull off
such down-to-earth storytelling as convincingly as he did.
CD 1 - Facets
1-1 Steel Rail Blues
1-2 Coal Tattoo
1-3 Texas Rodeo
1-4 Charley Green, Play That Slide Trombone
1-5 The Ballad Of Gunga Din
1-6 Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp From Savannah)
1-7 Sun Come Up
1-8 The Blizzard
1-9 Running Maggie
1-10 Until It's Time For Me To Go
1-11 Big Fat Woman
CD 2 - Jim And
Ingrid Too
2-1 Child Of Midnight
2-2 Marianne
2-3 Railroads And Riverboats
2-4 Hard Times Are Over
2-5 The Railroad Song
2-6 Maybe Tomorrow
2-7 PA (Song For A Grandfather)
CD 3 - Croce
3-1 Age
3-2 Spin, Spin, Spin
3-3 I Am Who I Am
3-4 What Do People Do
3-5 Another Day, Another Town
3-6 Vespers
3-7 Big Wheel
3-8 Just Another Day
3-9 The Next Man That I Marry
3-10 What The Hell
3-11 The Man That Is Me
CD 4 - You
Don't Mess Around With Jim
4-1 You Don't Mess Around With Jim
4-2 Tomorrow's Gonna Be A Brighter Day
4-3 New York's Not My Home
4-4 Hard Time Losin' Man
4-5 Photographs And Memories
4-6 Walkin' Back To Georgia
4-7 Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)
4-8 Time In A Bottle
4-9 Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)
4-10 Box # 10
4-11 A
Long Time Ago
4-12 Hey Tomorrow
CD 5 - Life And
Times
5-1 One Less Set Of Footsteps
5-2 Roller Derby Queen
5-3 Dreamin' Again
5-4 Careful Man
5-5 Alabama Rain
5-6 A
Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business (Singin' The Blues)
5-7 Next Time, This Time
5-8 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
5-9 These Dreams
5-10 Speedball Tucker
5-11 It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
CD 6 - I Got A
Name
6-1 I Got A Name
6-2 Lover's Cross
6-3 Five Short Minutes
6-4 Age
6-5 Workin' At The Carwash Blues
6-6 I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song
6-7 Salon And Saloon
6-8 Thursday
6-9 Top Hat Bar And Grille
6-10 Recently
CD 7 - The Lost
Recordings
7-1 You Don't Mess Around With Jim
7-2 New York's Not My Home
7-3 Tomorrow's Gonna Be A Brighter Day
7-4 Walkin' Back To Georgia
7-5 Hard Time Losin' Man
7-6 Operator
7-7 Time In A Bottle
7-8 Seems Like Such A Long Time Ago
7-9 Mississippi Lady
7-10 These Dreams
7-11 A
Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business (Singin' The Blues)
7-12 Lover's Cross
Notes
Format: 7 × CD, Compilation Box Set
Country: UK
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Label - Edsel Records
