Finally, after 50+ years, we get Dinah's nearly complete work on Roulette in this collection. Originally 5 LP's were released in 1962 and 1963, all of which are included in this set. After Dinah passed away, Roulette issued another 5 LP's, some of which included material not in the previous albums, but for the most part the same tracks. Each CD sleeve in this set reproduces the original LP cover and liner notes on the back. Unfortunately, the print size is almost unreadable without magnification, but for a bargain price something had to be sacrificed.
If you play the CD's on your PC, you will notice that the cover art is correctly shown only for "Dinah '62", "Dinah 63", and "Back to the Blues". The "In Love" CD has the wrong album cover and track listing. I've seen that cover somewhere else, but a lengthy search on Amazon failed to turn up the CD, though "Golden Greats" is similar. The 3rd CD doesn't show any cover art, but the track listings are correct.
In the editing process, someone repeated "Drinking Again", the first track on the "Drinking Again" CD, as the first track on "Dinah 62". It was not on the original Roulette LP release, which had a rather meager 9 tracks, and does not belong on "Dinah 62". Maybe they were trying to fill out this CD with a bit more material. The last track, "On the Street of Regret", on the "Drinking Again" CD has been dropped, a most unfortunate omission as it's the perfect ending to the this CD.
Overall, those are minor quibbles, not enough to take from the 5-star rating for this collection.
Those who remember Dinah Washington might consider two other collections Amazon offers, on Real Gone Jazz:
"Dinah Washington - 8 Classic Albums", a collection of 8 Mercury LP's, including the LP's "What a Difference a Day Makes" and "September in the Rain", her later Mercury recordings with strings and vocal backing.
"Dinah Washington Vol 2 - 7 Classic Albums", which includes the first 3 Roulette LP's in this series, and the truly unforgettable "Unforgettable". Neither includes "Sings for Lonely Lovers", another wonderful LP released around the same time, in her later Mercury years.
Whether you're an old Dinah fan or perhaps a younger listener who might be interested, all 3 of these collections represent excellent value.
Best of all, where else can you find a 5, 7, or 8-CD set for the price of a single CD?

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jazz vocal enthusiast

all of Dinah's Roulette except 1 lp of previously unreleased recordings

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2020

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replaced my lps on 1 cd-unlike some critics - I think Dinah's Roulette recordings are the best of her last 4 or 5 years of recordings

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2019

Replacing vinyl

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2019

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So happy to get this, I owned the album many years ago

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2015

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Contains most if not all of her Roulette releases, which to me, are some of her best works.

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Shane Brown

Better Music Than We Are Led to Believe

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2015

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This 5CD presents Dinah Washington's Roulette albums in Lp-reproduction paper sleeves in a slip-case that barely takes up the room of a single jewel case. Unlike some previous individual reissues of these albums, there are no bonus tracks, just the LPs as they first appeared - but the audio seems to have been newly remastered as they sound better than my older CD editions, but there is no info regarding this.

Many commentators will state that this, the music from the end of her life, is Dinah's least inventive period, and that is true. The arrangements in many cases are straightforward and the vocals have little of the edge of her earlier material. But that isn't to say that these are not enjoyable albums on their own terms. If you want to hear Dinah wail the blues, then (with the exception of one disc) go look elsewhere. However, if you want a set of enjoyable discs with Dinah in fine voice singing a series of pop songs and standards, then this will do nicely, thank you. And at 5 albums for £13, there is little to complain about. What's more, one of the albums, Back to the Blues, is a fine return to the sound that made her famous in the first place as she wails her way through a dozen blues standards. No, this set isn't Dinah at her very best, but the Roulette years have far more to offer than many will lead you to believe.

11 people found this helpful

allenr

Magnifying glass required

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2015

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I'm not wild about the packaging. Cardboard sleeves very tight & of course the print is simply too small to read. But the CDs are all authentic sounding

2 people found this helpful

Ms. Sheila Appleton

Dinah Washington wonderful selection of cds

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2017

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Dinah Washington wonderful selection of cds,I remember owning them on vinyl , and am now enjoying them again, Dinah
is always a total pleasure to listen to,plus the impressive musicians and arrangements that make her music such a joy.
These cds are terrific value.

2 people found this helpful

F.A.J. Teuns

Great collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2018

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Being a fan of Esther Phillips who always referred to Dinah Washington as her biggest inspiration I was curious about Dinah's original albums. They are all great, trust me.

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S. Baldwin

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2018

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Super collection and nice to have them in the original album artwork leaves -

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