They Call Me the Fat Man... "Antoine "Fats" Domino: The Legendary Imperial Recordings Box set Edition by Domino, Fats (1991) Audio CD

I made a large New Orleans music mix including about 25 Fats Domino songs, and as a Boy Scout merit badge project decided to carefully compare and report on the sound quality from four popular sources.My main discovery is that the mixing/mastering makes a dramatic difference – the same songs can sound like very different recordings.Capitol's 2002  Greatest Hits: Walking To New Orleans  has by far the most “enhanced” sound; some may like it. A ton of reverb was added to the vocal making it much fuller and fatter (no pun intended); the vocal is mixed way up front. The bass is greatly boosted making those hits really bounce. The trouble is much of the music from the supporting instruments is lost behind the resulting rumble. Probably a lot of people hear improved sound overall as they love the richer vocal. But if you compare less doctored versions, you realize how much has been muddied-out. There were just two tracks where I thought the Greatest Hits remastering worked out for the very best: “Poor Me” and “Walking to New Orleans.”The large, 1993 Bear Family set  Out of New Orleans  proved to be a surprise disappointment given its high praise. It is very clear & dry (little reverb), often a good thing. You can really hear the drum cymbals more distinctly than any other remastering. Sometimes the saxes come through more clearly and distinctly than the other mixes. But they practically lost the bass. Even Fats' left hand on the piano is less audible than it should be. I thought the problem might just be headphone listening, but even large speakers didn't work, and boosting the bass far up didn't sound good. I call this remastering awful. Not totally sure why, but much of the feel of the music is missing. As others have noted, they also kept the sped-up versions of some old 45 releases. Listen to “I'm Ready” for instance. Not quite Alvin & the Chipmunks, but that is not Fats' natural voice.Capitol's 1993 4-CD box  They Call Me the Fat Man... "Antoine "Fats" Domino: The Legendary Imperial Recordings  proved to be the clear winner for me on nearly all tracks. They did a wonderful job balancing the vocal/instrumental mix. The instruments are distinct enough, the vocal sounds natural. They didn't do any of that tempting noise filtering on the early 50s stuff which can so suck the life out of music. Great job, knob turners.Finally, I couldn't resist testing a volume of Ace Records' series, as they really brag-up their remastering. I went with the earlyish  Imperial Singles 2: 1953-56  because it was available cheaply, and Ace is offering strictly mono singles. (I prefer the stereo LP versions from post '58 found on other sets.) The Ace sound quality is excellent. To my ears, the mixing and remastering is mostly indistinguishable from what Capitol did; it was done with the same sensibility. Ace mastered at a somewhat louder level, which companies started doing in the later 1990s, theoretically to maximize dynamic range. This range doesn't matter for music recorded in the 50s & 60s. At least for Ace Volume 2, I call the sound from the Capitol Box and Ace to be of exactly equal quality.Consider buying the venerable 4-CD Capitol box rather than a more recent “improved sound” collection. You can choose your own greatest hits, and a used copy is reasonably priced. You'll get authentic music and balanced sound. If you want 150+ of Fats' Imperial recordings in connoisseur-approved mono mixes, you're probably already buying the five volumes from Ace. The Bear Family collection has even more tracks. It is mercifully out of print.

All of the Fats' hits plus others that he recorded during these years. Blueberry Hill, Walking to New Orleans, Ain't That A Shame, I'm Walkin' among others.I haven't played them yet but look forward to it. Worth getting at a great price.

What a fantastic box set!!!! If you like Fats Domino,you will love this set.

This is a must have set for those of you who revel in the music of this giant of R&B and R&R. For those of you who did not experience the sheer joy of listening to Antoine "Fats" Domino in his heyday then you owe it yourself to discover his musical genius.

Must have for any "Fats" fan! Great collection of his early and later stuff! Wonderful and worth the money! Recommended!

Outstanding summary of Fats' Imperial tenure. Excellent price and fast service, with great notes and history of Fats in his prime!

Excellent survey of not only seminal rock & roll, but New Orleans music in general. Imperative to have if anyone is remotely interested in the history of rock & roll or 50s R & B.

On time. Perfect condition. Valuable addition to my collection of classic rhythm and blues. The Fat Man is one of my all time favorites.

A perfect box👍

very good boxed set, good sound,very good condition as described by seller.

Klang ist super, Titelauswahl gut, Aufmachung gut. Empfehlungwert.Die Lieder sind in eine noch nie gehörte Klangqualität zu hören.Ich würde mich auf eine Fortsetzung freuen.Es sollten dann auch Proben und Livemitschnitte drauf sein

Dieser Kauf fand leider nicht statt. Der Verkaeufer hatte keine Übersicht seines Ladens.Wir sind sehr Entäuscht! Die Suche geht weiter