Finally compared Time-Life's "AM Gold" versus "Flower Power" collections

I always thought the sixties and seventies collection I had from Time-Life called "Flower Power" was a very well-mastered set. The songs, for the most part, sound terrific. And it's consistently well-master throughout. Many of the titles on "Flower Power" appeared earlier on an even more expansive 'nostaligia' *Gulp* collection called "AM Gold" which encompassed a whopping number of 33 discs! 600 songs, or so.

Anyway, I was dying to know if "AM Gold" was a good sounding as "Flower Power," and having just listened to much of "AM Gold," sadly, it is not. As I suspected "Flower Power" has a great sounding masterings, but AM Gold sounds, unfortunately like that: Too AM. Flat and sterile. Flower Power is bouncy and warm.

So if you love the rock of the "great generation" my recommendation is "Flower Power" is the set to get.

 

This one? https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Power...8&qid=1521460792&sr=1-6&keywords=flower+power

 

Yes it is the one

 

I'd posted a couple weeks back asking about a couple other Time Life hits collections but alas got no response.
I realize Time Life repackages their compilations in different forms every few years.
This is the most recent:
The 60s Music CD Collection by Time Life - Time Life
The '60s Time Has Come Today: 8 CDs +2 DVDs 150 songs (actually 138 songs total on the 8CDs) $134.95 One dvd is a comp of Ed Sullivan performances, the other some kind of history of rock n roll doc. Neither of which interest me.

Then there's '60s Music Revolution for $121.46 which seems to cast a wider net e.g. some Motown, Beach Boys, Ventures, Classical Gas.
’60s Music Revolution CDs by StarVista Entertainment Time Life - Time Life

Has anyone compared these two?
I know there's likely some overlap so I may have to just try and sort through the track listings myself.
I do have the Time Life 3CD British Beat comp already.

Alternatively has anybody done one of these for themselves a la carte? Using these comps as a starting point and then downloading individually from iTunes or whatever.

Thoughts?

 

I have the smaller Flower Power box set, which consists of 5 double discs (Groovin', Time of the Season, Born to be Wild, Age of Aquarius, Summer of Love). I also have the additional 4 double discs sold separately (Let's Work Together, Do You Believe in Magic, United We Stand, Good Lovin'). Alternately there is a larger box set with all of these. I think they're all mastered by Ron Rice. I need to listen more to them, but the sound quality seems good, though not as good as what Dennis Drake did during the same time period.

 

Still trying to figure out the best route... would collecting the Time-Life Classic Rock series be the better choice over the later sets like Flower Power? That way I could branch out in earlier and later directions without overlap. And what about the old Rhino Billboard collections? They are plentiful and I understand the sound quality is good. Though not as thorough.

 

I have enough Time Life items to endorse the assertion that their quality is, shall we say, "variable."

 

I have a few of the Classic Rock series. . . not impressed, but I don't have the Flower Power series with which to compare them.

 

I clicked on the Amazon link upthread for Flower Power 4. The tracklist doesn’t line up with the AM Gold discs I have for the late 60’s and early 70’s. It’s like an FM playlist v. AM hits. The sound on the AM Gold discs is pretty good but not outstanding for the 60’s, like my Polygrams “45s on CD” or DCC’s Underground Radio collections.

 

I just got the Flower Power set used for $35. Am I hearing right that Alice Cooper's School's Out is in mono?