Over the years Del McCoury has recorded for a variety of labels including Rebel, Rounder, Arhoolie, Revonah, Ceili, and others, and he has maintained a remarkably consistent degree of quality throughout, even with numerous changes in band personnel in his early years. In this new 5-CD set, Del, and his current label, McCoury Music, have chosen to re-record songs from all those sources with his current band, making for a consistent sound, even if it's not a true "retrospective". The music is certainly solid and excellent throughout, and includes renditions of many lesser known songs in addition to his most popular numbers like RAIN & SNOW, HIGH ON A MOUNTAIN, GOOD MAN LIKE ME, COLD HARD FACTS, and 1952 VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING. One negative here --and it is already being pointed to by some buyers --is the value factor. In this day of truly "DeLuxe" boxed sets, it seems a bit tacky to put only 10 songs on each CD, thereby stretching a comfortable 3-CD set into five discs in a transparent attempt to justify a higher price. Also, there's just one 12-page, CD sized booklet, quite adequate and appropriate for a single CD, but far from what you would expect in a 5-record, 50-year compilation. It would be nice to see a few more pages of photos of his early bands and so on, although one nice touch is a list of all 33 of Del's band members over the years, from Billy Baker to Alan Bartram. Despite these shortcomings, this is still a wonderful collection of songs by one of the finest singers in the history of Bluegrass music, and an artist who has remained true to his roots over half a century. 5-CD Boxed set: $ 45.00