Wailin' Daddy - Best of Maxwell Davis

[Dan Gould]

Just had to post about this one, which came out late last year. Great value - three discs, 90 tunes, about $20-25 and with a very informative booklet to boot. Disc 1 is a selection of Davis' singles, and discs 2 and 3 are a selection of the recordings of others with Davis' sax featured.

Here is the Amazon product page.

About time Maxwell Davis got this kind of recognition.

[J.A.W.]

The European label that released this is "Fantastic Voyage".

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Looks very interesting - thanks Dan.

MG

[Big Beat Steve]

Yes, very nice comp.

Though those who've been around the block in early R&B for a while and still treasure their vinyl will find that there are quite a few duplications from CD1 with the Maxwell Davis LP on Official 6064 (which reissues his Aladdin output) and with the "Father of West Coast R&B" LP on Ace CHAD 239 (which has a cross-section of his Modern/RPM stuff). But there are some newly reissued tracks on CD1 anyhow to make it worthwhile (so I'd guess) to all-out collectors. As for the contents of CDs 2 & 3, that depends on what you already have in your collection (am pretty sure I'll take the pluge before long, despite the duplicates ).

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Yes, very nice comp.

Though those who've been around the block in early R&B for a while and still treasure their vinyl will find that there are quite a few duplications from CD1 with the Maxwell Davis LP on Official 6064 (which reissues his Aladdin output) and with the "Father of West Coast R&B" LP on Ace CHAD 239 (which has a cross-section of his Modern/RPM stuff). But there are some newly reissued tracks on CD1 anyhow to make it worthwhile (so I'd guess) to all-out collectors. As for the contents of CDs 2 & 3, that depends on what you already have in your collection (am pretty sure I'll take the pluge before long, despite the duplicates ).

Thanks Steve. I have the Official LP already and a good bit of modern stuff with Maxwell. I expect I'll get this in due course, though.

MG

[Big Beat Steve]

Received my copy of this 3-CD set (from a very affordable Amazon Seller source) today and am very pleased.

CD 1 with releases originally issued under Maxwell Davis' name only has SOME overlap with the earlier Aladdin/Official and Ace reissues (so quite a few tracks remain for discovery) and CDs 2 and 3 avoid many of the more obvious hits that Maxwell Davis appeared on and manages to fill quite a few reissue gaps by including lesser-known and previously (to my knowledge) unreissued recordings, ranging from straightforward R&B to boogie woogie combos and very boppish "crossover" tunes that reach right into the all-out jazz field of the 40s.

The sound is quite OK to me, considering almost all of the tracks come from 78 rpm sources, the packaging and booklet are very nicely done, including details on original releases, lots of label reproductions and very much to the point liner notes by expert Dave Penny.

And all this at an affordable price. I don't know who or what exactly is behind this "Fantastic Voyage" label (of which I have an also well-done Ina Ray Hutton 3-CD set) or its "Future Music" parent but at any rate as far as track compilation and overall presentation go, IMO this is a well-done release that avoids duplicating too much of the obvious.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Oh, that's really appetising, thanks Steve.

MG

[Head Man]

Thanks for recommending this, Dan. My copy arrived this morning and it is indeed a great compilation.

Sound is good and the booklet very informative, although my one minor gripe is that it does not include full details of who is playing on each track. For someone like me with only a limited knowledge of Maxwell Davis this would have been very helpful.

But, hey, for the price I'm not really complaining!

[ghost of miles]

Just ordered this set, having been a Maxwell Davis fan ever since picking up the Charles Brown and Amos Milburn Mosaics in the late 1990s. I often wished for a collection like this, but over the years Davis had fallen off my radar (and I didn’t see this thread when Dan started it back in 2012), until tonight, when I got into the mood to revisit the Brown Mosaic.  Looks like the Ace title was never released on CD? 

Edited October 30, 2018 by ghost of miles

[king ubu]

Got this set last year as well, based on this thread  

[ghost of miles]

Absolutely fantastic set for anybody who’s at all into Maxwell Davis, or simply into the late 1940s/early 50s West Coast jazz/R & B era. So glad this collection exists... talk about an unsung figure! 

[Teasing the Korean]

Is anyone familiar with Maxwell Davis's big band tribute albums that came out on Crown Records?

[JSngry]

22 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

Is anyone familiar with Maxwell Davis's big band tribute albums that came out on Crown Records?

Very, yes. Some are better than others, but none are less than good.

And the Woody Herman record is pretty damn excellent, imo.

[Teasing the Korean]

7 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Very, yes. Some are better than others, but none are less than good.

And the Woody Herman record is pretty damn excellent, imo.

Thank you!

[JSngry]

Believe it or not, the Jimmy Dorsey one is just a little spunky!

But that Herman one, that's the one to have if you're only having one. Check out the band:  https://www.discogs.com/master/482964-Members-Of-The-Woody-Herman-Orchestra-Tribute-To-Woody-Herman

Stealth Eddie Costa, a.o.

Those things have been packaged a gabzillion different ways, and only sometimes by Crown. 

[Teasing the Korean]

On 4/10/2022 at 4:00 PM, JSngry said:

Those things have been packaged a gabzillion different ways, and only sometimes by Crown. 

Did they make it to CD?

[JSngry]

That, I do not know. If so, probably not in any recognizable form.

[Teasing the Korean]

16 minutes ago, JSngry said:

That, I do not know. If so, probably not in any recognizable form.

Some budget label LPs were reissued on CD with hideous and sometimes deceptive cover art.  If this were the case here, they would probably emphasize Woody Herman and Jimmy Dorsey, and place Davis's name in a microscopic font.  

They would probably also spell "jazz" using a sax for the "J."

[JSngry]

I think that Davis' name had been dropped by the third or so Crown iteration. It was always "members of the *** orchestra", which was not inaccurate.

 

An example: 

https://www.discogs.com/master/482941-Members-Of-The-Charlie-Barnet-Orchestra-A-Tribute-To-Charlie-Barnet-In-Hi-Fi-By-Members-Of-The-Charl

 

[JSngry]

Here's what seems to be a CD iteration of the Herman: 

https://www.discogs.com/release/8470413-Members-Of-The-Woody-Herman-Orchestra-A-Tribute-To-Woody-Herman