The Golden Years (1992)

About this title: Issued in 1992, the first of GRP's Crusaders boxes deliberately limits its reach to a 20-year stretch, stopping just before the crucial departure of drummer Stix Hooper -- hence the arguably apt title The Golden Years. The three discs occasionally give us a good idea of the band's evolution from a fine Texas bop outfit to the soulful groovemeisters somewhat beyond category, but there are unexplained flashbacks in the chronology and a frustrating lack of recording dates, a failing that also marks the later box set, Way Back Home. Disc One roughly documents the transition from the Jazz ... read more

Tracks:

1. The Young Rabbits [Henderson]
2. Blues Up Tight [Sample]
3. Fancy Dance [Sample]
4. Eleanor Rigby [Lennon/McCartney]
5. Way Back Home (Intro) [Felder]
6. Way Back Home [Felder]
7. Hard Times [Mitchell]
8. Thank You [Stewart]
9. Stomp and Buck Dance [Henderson]
10. Greasy Spoon [Hooper]
11. A Ballad for Joe (Louis) [Sample]
12. Chain Reaction [Sample]
13. Rainbow Visions [Henderson]
14. Spiral [Sample]
15. Keep That Same Old Feeling [Henderson]
16. Free as the Wind [Sample]
17. I Felt the Love [Hooper]
18. The Way We Was [Popwell]
19. Nite Crawler [Carlton]
20. Sweet N' Sour [Sample]
21. It Happens Everyday [Sample]
22. So Far Away [Studio Version] [King]
23. Put It Where You Want It [Sample]
24. Marcella's Dream [Hooper]
25. Fairy Tales [Sample]
26. Street Life [Sample/Jennings]
27. The Hustler [Hooper]
28. Carnival of the Night [Felder]
29. Elegant Evening [Hooper]
30. Last Call [Sample]
31. A Search for Soul [Sample]
32. Don't Let It Get You Down [Sample]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.