VA - The Buddah Box [1993] (3 x CDs)

BUDDAH BOX

VA - The Buddah Box [1993] (3 x CDs)

This remarkable three-CD box set recaps the biggest hits spawned by the Buddah record label and its distributed labels (Kama Sutra, Team, Pavilion, Hot Wax, Sussex, and Curtom). While the Buddah label was best known for its role in the 1967-1970 bubblegum genre and for giving rise to one surprise hit after another, it also was responsible for more substantive work from such acts as Curtis Mayfield, Gladys Knight & the Pips, early Captain Beefheart, and Charlie Daniels. The latter two are unfortunately not represented in this collection; even so, the sheer breadth of material covered here is astonishing. Unlike better-known labels of the period like Motown, Stax, and Philles, there is no unifying sonic trait in the artists under the Buddah umbrella. Consequently, listening to the entire collection in one sitting is a schizophrenic endeavor in its bouncing from bubblegum (1910 Fruitgum Company, Ohio Express, et al.) to Jesus-freakdom (Ocean's "Put Your Hand in the Hand," the Edwin Hawkins Singers' "Oh Happy Day") to '70s soul balladry (the elegant "Dream Merchant" from New Birth and "You Are My Starship" by Norman Connors) to disco oddities (Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More," the bizarre "Wide Receiver" by Michael Henderson). Despite the stylistic inconsistency, The Buddah Box is a worthwhile investment for music collectors, as its liner notes tell a fascinating story of the label's evolution, and there are a number of hard-to-find gems represented. It might have benefited from a few more obscurities - the collection sticks to Top 40 hits wherever it can - but it makes a good argument that the story of a trash-singles label can be just as interesting, and the tunes nearly as compelling, as that of the more respected labels of the '60s and '70s.  (AllMusic Review by Joseph McCombs)

A History is a 3-CD box which basically assembles the company's hits from 1965-1977 (though two tracks from 80 and 84 creep in). If your collection is fairly expansive, you probably own must of the music here. If not, and if you want some reasonably cool stuff (bubblegum through disco), you can hardly go wrong.

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Track lists
CD1
01    Lovin' Spoonful    Do You Believe in Magic    2:06
02    Lovin' Spoonful    Daydream    2:22
03    Lovin' Spoonful    Summer in the City    2:42
04    Innocence    There's Got to Be a Word    2:26
05    Sopwith Camel    Hello Hello    2:26
06    Lemon Pipers    Green Tambourine    2:28
07    1910 Fruitgum Company    Simon Says    2:17
08    Ohio Express    Yummy Yummy Yummy    2:22
09    1910 Fruitgum Company    1,2,3 Red Light    2:12
10    Shadows of Night    Shake    2:29
11    Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus    Quick Joey Small    2:26
12    Ohio Express    Chewy Chewy    2:39
13    Brooklyn Bridge    Worst That Could Happen    3:09
14    Edwin Hawkins Singers    Oh Happy Day    5:12
15    Lou Christie    I'm Gonna Make You Mine    2:40

CD2

01    Vic Venus    Moonlight    3:00
02    Motherlode    When I Die    3:23
03    Jaggerz    The Rapper    2:43
04    Five Stairsteps    Ooh Child    2:57
05    Melanie    (Lay Down) Candles in the Rain    3:50
06    100 Proof Aged in Soul    Somebody's Been Sleeping in My Bed    4:12
07    Brewer & Shipley    One Toke Over the Line    3:22
08    Ocean    Put Your Hand in the Hand    2:55
09    Honey Cone    Want Ads    2:47
10    Bill Withers    Ain't No Sunshine    2:06
11    Steve Goodman    The City of New Orleans    3:53
12    Bill Withers    Lean on Me    4:19
13    Curtis Mayfield    Freddie's Dead    5:28
14    Curtis Mayfield    Superfly    3:54
15    Gunhill Road    Back When My Hair Was Short    2:39

CD3

01    Stories    Brother Louie    3:59
02    Gladis Knight& the Pips    Midnight Train to Georgia    4:39
03    Gladis Knight& the Pips    The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me    3:46
04    Jim Weatherly    The Need to Be    3:56
05    Barbara Mason    From His Woman to You    5:00
06    Sha Na Na    Just Like Romeo & Juliet    3:09
07    New Birth    Dream Merchant    4:40
08    Fred Paris & Black Satin    Everybody Stand Up and Clap Your Hands    3:47
09    Staple Singers    Let's Do it Again    3:29
10    Trammps    Hold Back the Night    3:34
11    Andrea True Connection    More More More, Part 1    3:04
12    Norman Connors    You Are My Starship    3:24
13    Addrisi Brothers    Slow Dancin' Don't Turn Me On    3:14
14    Michael Henderson    Wide Receiver    5:20
15    Disco 3    Fat Boys    4:29

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