The version I have is the small box and was listening to it the whole day today.The sound is not bad at all. Actually, It is quite good.

The music is great capturing Armstrong in a period that was so instrumental in defining Jazz and the roots of New Orleans Music.

The selections are a good sampler for further in depth listening of releases that are available.It all adds up to a totally enjoyable experience.

There are various surprises and probably hard to find cuts.

For those interested in further cd's I heartily recommend The Complete Hot 5's(both JSP and Columbia are fine to my ears.The JSP may sound better with some post live selections not on Columbia's box, while the Columbia book is great and has a few alternate sides if I am not mistaken and is a lavish affair),King Oliver's Complete sessions(The Dutch 2 cd set on Challenge),Louis Big Band recordings(JSP)that completes the 30's, and the 7 selections from the Red Onion Babies found on Milestone/Jazz Heritage King Oliver and Lois Armstrong cd that duplicates most of King Oliver's complete set mentioned above except the Red Onion Baby selections. Also Breaking Out Of New Orleans(JSP) is top ranking as far as sound and selection and overall quality of this genre offering quality from many bands from 1922-1929(It also has 4 selections from the Red Onion Babies found on Louis Armstrong/King Oliver cd).

The book inside this CD is wonderful as well.

The most complete collection of the most important work by the most dominant American musician of the first half of the 20th century.

Too much hype?

Trust me, this is a great collection, worthy of that hype. These are the recordings that cemented Armstrong's reputation as the most important instrumentalist of the age.

I have to disagree completely with the previous reviewer. The JSP set sounds way better than these sets (I own both). Also, you cant compare this set with the JSP set in terms of content. The JSP set only includes recordings with the hot five and sevens. On this set, only 2 of the 4 CD's include that material. The rest is stuff recorded earlier as a sideman or later with RCA. Everything in this set is gold of the highest order. But the remastering is no longer the best it could be.

Louis Armstrong is the greatest artist of the 20th century. Don't die without hearing "West End Blues". In fact, don't live one more day without this CD. I know what you're thinking. I looked at the years this box set covers and I thought, "Oh no. 4 CD's of 78s." The truth is the sound is tinny. And the truth is it doesn't matter.