The extraordinary success of Chess Records was founded upon the groundbreaking guitar-charged tracks laid down by bluesmen Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Lockwood Jr., Sonny Boy Williamson, and Buddy Guy, plus rockers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, with the piano playing a supporting role in their ensembles. But this comprehensive two-CD offering reminds us of the many 88-key blues classics Chess released as well. Popular piano men Eddie Boyd and Willie Mabon are featured here with studio stalwarts Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake. Boyd leads off with slow stunners "24 Hours" and "Third Degree," which heavily influenced the 1960s British blues scene, and the surprisingly upbeat "Just a Fool". The stylish Mabon, more entertainer than bluesman, is represented by his big jump-blues hits "I Don't Know" and "I'm Mad," followed by four cuts from the masterly Spann and three superb instrumental tracks by the mysterious Leake.

The liner notes claim that his double CD contains the entire recorded output of the group - 64 tracks! More than you need really - I felt distinctly light-headed after listening to the whole lot in one session. I loved their sound back then - Telstar was electrifying, and I played the hit singles Globetrotter, The Ice Cream Man, Robot, Dragonfly to death, as well as the ones that failed, inexplicably, to make the charts, like Hot Pot and Monte Carlo. Then there were the gorgeous B-sides and album tracks like Blue, Blue, Blue Beat, Chasing Moonbeams and Red Roses and A Sky of Blue, the haunting Love and Fury and the wonderful Ridin' The Wind [the US and UK versions both here].

When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours.