The first high-profile single-disc compilation of the great Ella Mae Morse since 1992 s Capitol Collectors Series -- which itself was the first time her recordings were reissued in years -- Bear Family's 2010 disc Rocks trumps its predecessor by a country mile, offering 34 tracks cut between 1942 and 1957. This is a far greater time span than Capitol Collectors Series, which sampled her ahead-of-their time sides of the  40s, and it has a distinct focus on her rocking sides, trimming away numbers that might wind up sounding a bit too much like standard big-band fare. Ironically, the sides she cut during rock & roll s  50s heyday sound closer to big band than the wild jump blues she cut in the  40s, but ultimately, such distinctions are little more than talking points because what s here is dynamite, and some of the rockingist blues and jumpingist rock you ll ever hear. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi