The Crusaders - Gold (2007)

For listeners willing to overlook the fact that this Crusaders retrospective begins the story in 1970 -- nine years after the combo began recording excellent hard bop and soul-jazz -- the two-disc set Gold is just as good and nearly as thorough as the 1996 four-disc box Way Back Home. (Since the running time is only 17 seconds shy of 160 minutes, it's truly jam-packed.) Focusing on the '70s allows the set to dwell considerably on each record the group released during the decade that produced its most popular (although not most rewarding) music. After grabbing a pair of tracks from the Crusaders' two Chisa LPs of 1970-1971, the set moves on to the Blue Thumb years with multiple selections from every main album of the '70s -- 1, The 2nd Crusade, Scratch, Chain Reaction, Free as the Wind. The material is primarily fusion and jazz-funk, moving into crossover jazz by the second disc, and while the group never quite matched great themes with great grooves, this is the easiest way to get to the heart of their discography. (Rare groove fanatics may agree or disagree with the inclusion of the shortened 12" version of "Street Life," although it still clocks in north of five minutes.)