Issued in 1992, the first of GRP's Crusaders boxes deliberately limits its reach to a 20-year stretch, stopping just before the crucial departure of drummer Stix Hooper -- hence the arguably apt title The Golden Years. The three discs occasionally give us a good idea of the band's evolution from a fine Texas bop outfit to the soulful groovemeisters somewhat beyond category.
Disc One roughly documents the transition from the Jazz Crusaders to the Crusaders, with the live "Eleanor Rigby" serving as the pivotal turning point, though some may lament the short weight of material (albeit licensed from Pacific Jazz) from the 1960s.
Musically, Disc Two is a gas, an uninterrupted cornucopia of first-rate material -- two tracks from Those Southern Knights, almost the entire Free as the Wind album, and doubling back to two monster cuts from Crusaders I, the sublime "So Far Away" and percolating "Put It Where You Want It."
Disc Three moves at a somewhat lower level, but you do get the full-length "Street Life," and the set closes with a flashback to The Second Crusade. Missed chronological opportunities aside, newcomers and established fans will find a terrific selection of fine grooves and zesty music-making in one compact box.
