This release is a condensed version of Bear Family’s four-CD box set that was issued earlier in the decade. Shirley and Lee, dubbed the “Sweethearts of the Blues,” hailed from the 7th Ward, and for most of the 1950s maintained a vinyl love affair/soap opera on Aladdin Records. Their formula was predictable: Shirley flirted, Lee swallowed the hook and they were happy little love birds. Wouldn’t you know it though, then they broke up in a huff. Remember, Shirley and Lee lived in an era before eHarmony, so after several months of Lee’s begging, they got back together and started to rock again all night long! Along the way, the duo had a handful of hits, the biggest being the timeless “Let the Good Times Roll,” from 1956, which decades later spawned the biggest music copyright dispute in the history of the New Orleans legal system. The nuggets here include their earliest hit, the ballad “I’m Gone,” “Rockin’ with the Clock,” “When Day Is Done” and the telling, “It Takes Money.” Dave Bartholomew produced most of these recordings, using the crème de la crème of New Orleans session musicians—Palmer, Tyler, Franks, Fields, Allen, Adams—all unsung musical gods. Still, listening to 31 Shirley and Lee tracks is a daunting task (I would equate listening to Shirley and Lee’s box set without interruption equal to a long weekend spent at Guantanamo Bay). The problem is Shirley—God bless the woman, she was so sweet and went through so much heartache—had a shrill voice and rarely, if at all, sang on key. As brutal as it sounds, she sometimes spoiled perfectly good recordings. Listen to remakes of “Let the Good Times Roll” and make your own decision. Nevertheless, the duo sold millions of records and headlined scores of huge shows. They even inspired impersonators that did shows claiming they in fact were Shirley and Lee through out the South. This is a nice piece of New Orleans musical history and Bear Family as always presents a first class package, But, like strong whiskey, Shirley and Lee is best taken sparingly.