Spent Brothers Productions Gene Vincent Website

Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps influenced generations of rock artists with their rockabilly recordings on Capitol. Yet, those classics sides were not the end of Vincent’s story as a recording artist. This smartly documented set includes 223 of the Virginia-born rock pioneer’s studio work from every label he was associated with over his 16 year career…

Beautifully packaged, this set boasts a 130 page hardcover book featuring previously unpublished photographs. Renowned Vincent researcher Derek Henderson helped put together with great knowledge and care. Ian Wallis wrote the biography and Deke Dickerson contributed a technical appreciation of Vincent’s recordings. Recording logs and contracts from Capitol producer Ken Nelson supplement the complete discography information in the book. More importantly, the sound quality tops any previous release of these tracks (some are previously unissued stereo versions). By tackling this artist’s complete recording career in such high style, Bear Family has crafted a box set as compelling as Gene Vincent himself.

Johnny Vallis

Jukebox N^o227 Février 2006

Le transfert numérique effectué par Bear Family est réellement fantastiique. Les progès de la technologie et le soin méticuleux de Derek Henderson font que ce coffret n’a rien de comparable avec celui publié il y a quinze ans par EMI…

Didier Delcourt

The digital transfer carried out by Bear Family is truly fantastic. Technological progress and the meticulous care of Derek Henderson mean that there’s just no comparison between this box set and that published by EMI fifteen years ago…

(Thanks to Nicola Thwaite for translation)

Record Collector UK Issue 315 October 2005

*****
Unquestionably one of rock’s greatest large scale box sets, build a shelf to lean this one against Dylan’s Genuine Live 1966 and Elvis’ 50s masters.

Colin Fleming

Mojo UK May 2005

BLACK AND BLUE

The original black leather rebel gets the full treatment, with superlative sound…
*****
Gene’s 1956-64 recordings for Capitol and Columbia were covered by an excellent EMI box set in 1990. Bear Family’s new box…takes in the whole of Vincent’s career…58 performances not in the previous box, plus extra mono and stereo variants of some material, and a 130-page LP-sized hardback illustrated book with a fine biography by Ian Wallis and technical notes by Deke Dickerson… He was only 36 when the road ran out, but the music here ranks alongside the very best that’s ever been recorded, before or since.

Max Décharné

Now Dig This UK Issue 265 April 2005

The Bop That Won’t Ever Stop
This is the third and by far most lavish Vincent box set…at last Gene’s music gets the long overdue Bear family treatment with this 8XCD set which partners together all of the studio recordings…between 1956 - 1971… This being Bear Family, of course, you also get a super 132-page hardback book full of great pictures… The reproduction of these photos is superb - a real treat for the eyes… this box…won’t be one of those to be admired and then filed away on the shelf… what a great 70th birthday present this would have made for Gene. I’m sure he would have been proud of it.

Eric Dunsdon