VA - The 1969 Warner/Reprise Songbook (1969)

With the two-disc 1969 Warner/Reprise Songbook, Warner Bros. Records launched a series of bargain-priced label samplers dubbed Loss Leaders: available via mail order for two bucks or less, these remarkably generous compilations often featured B-sides and other non-LP tracks, but what's most notable is the sheer consistency of the listening experience. Warner and its affiliated labels housed a veritable murderers' row of rock & roll legends, and only rarely does a disappointing track squeak into the mix. Spanning from Wild Man Fischer (the wonderfully apropos "Songs for Sale," recorded live on the Sunset Strip) to Miriam Makeba (a potent rendition of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released"), The 1969 Warner/Reprise Songbook remains the benchmark by which the series is judged, spotlighting a veritable who's who of legends including Jimi Hendrix (the non-LP blues classic "Red House"), Neil Young ("I've Been Waiting for You"), Joni Mitchell ("Nathan la Franeer"), and Van Morrison ("Slim Slow Slider") alongside cult favorites like Randy Newman ("Davy the Fat Boy") and Van Dyke Parks ("Music for Datsun TV Commercial"). This is music that celebrates the creative spirit at its most daring and realized -- and proves a stinging reminder of how calculated and tame major-label rosters have become in the decades since.