A Whole Lotta Shaky
| The Epic Masters | ||||
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| Box set by Shakin' Stevens | ||||
| Released | 16 November 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 1978–1992 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll, pop, rockabilly | |||
| Label | Sony Music | |||
| Producer | Various | |||
| Shakin' Stevens chronology | ||||
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The Epic Masters is a box set compilation comprising ten remastered albums by Shakin' Stevens. Released on 16 November 2009, the set contains nine albums originally released by Epic Records between 1980 and 1990, plus an exclusive CD of 12" extended mixes. The set was also made available as a download through iTunes.
Although one of the most popular acts of the 1980s, Shakin' Stevens' major period of success came just before the emergence of the compact disc as a major format. Three of Stevens' albums (This Ole House, Shaky and Give Me Your Heart Tonight) had made the top 3 of the UK charts during 1981 and 1982 and, as a result, his 1983 release The Bop Won't Stop was one of the earliest of Epic's albums to be transferred to the CD format. However, despite producing three Top 5 hit singles, the album itself stalled at number 21 in the charts. In response to this relative failure, Epic ignored Shaky's next two album releases (one of which was his Greatest Hits album).
By the time of Stevens' next release - 1987's Let's Boogie - compact disc had become the dominant music format and, indeed, all of Stevens' subsequent studio albums were released on CD. However, the rise of the CD happened to coincide with a decline in the Welsh rocker's popularity and, apart from a few hits compilations and a very limited release of This Ole House in the early 90s, many of Shaky's most popular recordings were to be denied a digital release for many years.
In 2003, Epic's parent company Sony BMG released a compromise three CD box set entitled Hits And More which contained most of the hits plus various selected album tracks. However, a resurgence in Stevens' popularity which began with him winning the 2005 ITV show Hit Me Baby One More Time resulted in the hits album The Collection reaching number 4 in the UK album charts. With Shaky's appearance at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival helping to confirm his popularity among those old enough to remember him the first time around, Sony finally relented and authorised, for the first time, the release of all of Shakin' Stevens' original albums on compact disc.
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