Sampler. Hard to peg but exceedingly easy to love, NRBQ has been surprising and delighting listeners (and avowed fans like Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Wilco and the Replacements) since they formed as the New Rhythm & Blues Quartet in Kentucky in ’66. They bring joy and spontaneity to both the studio and the stage (they famously use no set list in concert, even taking requests from fans), so it’s a great thing that their first career-crossing retrospective brings you their key studio tracks as well as live ones. You’ll hear hits, rarities, concert staples, a wide range of covers (the widest) and previously unissued gems. Loving liner notes and unseen photos accompany these 5 CDs, which are divided into the time periods 1966–70, 1971–78, 1977–90, 1989–2004 and 2005–16. Live versions of "Paris," "Crazy Like a Fox," "I Got a Rocket in My Pocket," "S’Posin’," "She Got the House," "Step Aside," "I Feel Good," "Honey Hush" and "Be My Woman Tonight" join their studio recordings of "Me and the Boys," "RC Cola and a Moon Pie," "Get That Gasoline Blues," "Howard Johnson’s Got His Ho-Jo Workin’," "Ridin’ in My Car," the instrumental "Smackaroo," "Captain Lou" (with Captain Lou Albano), the 1966 home recording "Heartbreaker"…50 years of music, merriment and massive talent! Omnivore.
