Fully recommended
Etta James was with Chess for over fifteen years (appearing initially on their subsidiary labels Argo and Cadet) between 1960 and 1976, adapting and rolling with the times, trying out new ideas, never selling out, and making a heap of great blues and soul records. If squeezing fifteen years of material onto just three discs seems a tall order, imagine the absurdity of trying to compile The Best Of Etta James, which is a single CD of her Chess years. This box set represents far better value and is fully recommended, with just a couple of small caveats.

Firstly, there are too many mono mixes, even from the nineteen-seventies when stereo versions were prepared as a matter of course and are available elsewhere, and secondly, there is too little detailed documentation.

Finally, whilst I have no quarrel at all with the title, The Very Best Of Etta James, the subtitle The Chess Singles is just misleading. Some A-sides are absent, seven B-sides are included (just as well, as these include All I Could Do Was Cry, I Just Want To Make Love To You and I'd Rather Go Blind) and contrarily there are several album tracks and even a couple of outtakes that weren't released at the time at all. These include her brilliant version of Do Right Woman, Do Right Man recorded at Muscle Shoals and inexplicably left in the can until 1993.

This collection would be well complemented by The Complete Modern and Kent Recordings, representing the period before she signed to Chess. It's worth remembering that when these days artists are expected to be at their peak after one single, singers like Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Etta James had been learning their craft for several years before becoming established, and Etta James' first single appeared in 1955.

Includes tracks NOT in her "Chess Box"
If you love Miss Peaches you may want to consider this one for the tracks that are NOT included in "The Chess Box":

Baby What You Want Me To Do (Live)
Breaking Point
I Got You Babe
I'm Gonna Take What He's Got
Leave Your Hat On
Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing
Tighten Up Your Own Thing

Otherwise I'd have to recommend the larger collection, unless your budget just can't bear it.

Excellent and economical collection!
Here we have 3 cd's of Etta James Chess Recordings. This collection contains some of her greatest performances for the label with a couple of songs that have not been available for a long time. I was surprised to find "The Breaking Point" in this collection. "Bobby Is His Name" is another great recording. A large portion of these recordings are in STEREO and the remastering is good. This collection is a European product and I've seen it on line for $15. It's worth it.