Any box set or compilation that starts off with “Like A Rolling Stone” and “Eve Of Destruction” as the first two tracks is bound to prove interesting and that’s just the case with Four Decades Of Folk-Rock. Only Time Life would attempt such a massive chronicle of songs that changed the world in the ‘60s, and taking that same rock spirit as played by musicians ever since. Of course Disc 1, The ‘60s, was really the dawn of both folk-rock and rock and is by far the most illuminating—18 tracks of sheer musical genius from legends like Bob Dylan, Barry McGuire, The Byrds, Donovan, Fred Neil, The Band, Buffalo Springfield and more. Disc two with 17 songs takes the ‘60s into the ‘70s with a more developed commercial FM radio ethic folk-rock ethic with standout cuts from Arlo Guthrie, Traffic, CSN, Nick Drake and the Grateful Dead. The ‘80s (Disc 3 - 18 tracks with R.E.M., the Bangles, a great vintage Roches cut) and ‘90s (Disc 4 - 18 tracks with Wilco, Mazzy Star, Natalie Merchant) carry on the spirit of the ‘60s with some fine modern alt-rock classics. Extensive liner notes and rare and archival pics of all 71 artists on hand and much more enhance this folk-rock trip down memory lane. www.timelife.com

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