On a sociological basis alone, Krupa was a truly fascinating individual. He played with Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson in one of the rare ethnically mixed groups at that time. He was ferociously independent yet quite an agreeable personality who had an excellent eye for talent, which ensured his groups were well stocked with top players, including Milt Hinton, Phil Woods and Hank Jones. And, in the emerging celebrity-oriented pop culture he was an icon who managed to possess the best kept messiest hair years before Elvis and the Beatles. He was, however, no saint. Being a patron of weed, he was busted and endured all the ignominious consequences for that transgression.Of course, his dynamic, powerful, soulful drumming style was noteworthy and influential. But, on a deeper level, Krupa was one of the great bandleaders, whose skills have been generally overlooked over the decades. This collection is an indisputable reminder of that. Surprisingly, his band members receive much more of the spotlight than does Mr. Sticks. His gift: Realizing his own exceptional talent while yielding to others who kept the swing swinging. This is not, per se, a review of drumming techniques but rather a surprisingly delightful collection of tunes that stick in your memory days after listening.I have a handful or so of the Real Gone efforts and, as has been mentioned, fidelity issues are worth noting, particularly regarding the piano, which tends to be subordinated to other instruments, especially the bass. It appears as if a group of crafty but technologically limited audiophiles remastered the original vinyl records, accentuating what they could to sustain the highest level of fidelity possible. One of the abiding problems, however, is that the vinyl cuts that were originally played frequently, i.e. before the grooves returned to peak form after approximately 45 minutes or so, are impaired and thus produced distortion during the mastering process. That's why some cuts on these CDs are, if not unlistenable, unripable. The Krupa collection does not have that problem. It has the best fidelity among the group I have, indicating, perhaps, that the owner of the vinyl records wasn't as enamored with select cuts, which were played over and over. Maybe, because nearly all of the cuts are very good to excellent, cuts weren't singled out for repeat replays.This is a fabulous collection, albeit one with listing problems previously mentioned. It represents a relatively wide range of styles, but is an exemplar of driving, innovative yet accessible swing music. Grab one before the party's over.