Doo Wop royalty and rarities

With so many Doo Wop compilations available, it's no easy task to pick one as a starting place. Rhino's box sets (three four-disc sets, and counting) and Collectables' eight disc series, "Doo Wop 45's on CD," cover more ground than most buyers need as an introduction. Varese's single-disc anthology provides a good jump-start, balancing genre standards with lesser known (but no less worthy) sides. This twenty-five track collection provides both an enjoyable doo wop spin, as well as a stepping stone into the world of doo wop collecting.

Well-known highlights include "Get a Job" "In the Still of the Night" "Earth Angel" "There's a Moon Out Tonight" "Over the Mountain; Across the Sea" "What's Your Name" "16 Candles" "We Belong Together" and "Since I Don't Have You." Interestingly, the familiarity of these songs isn't always mirrored by their original popularity. Movie soundtracks such as "American Graffitti" and "Christine" (not to mention revival acts like Sha Na Na and the condensation of Oldies radio) have often rearranged our perspective on these songs. Also of note is how the R&B and Pop charts often disagreed on these memorable tunes.

Lesser known highlights (not among afficianados, of course) include The Six Teens' torchy "A Casual Look" (making its U.S. CD debut), The Tokens' "Tonight I Fell in Love," The Genies' "Who's That Knocking" (featuring Claude Johnson, who'd shortly become Juan of Don & Juan, whose own "What's Your Name" is also featured here), The Solitaires' foot-stomping "Walking Along," and The Jive Five's soulful "What Time Is It?"

Every one of these songs is delivered with a passion and immediacy that's mostly lost in this age of multitrack recording. Hours spent practicing on street corners turned these singers into performers, and the focus on singles provided a greater concertration of quality songs.

Billy Vera's liner notes provide valuable background on the artists, setting each among the music scene, and providing avenues to explore their histories and later associations. It would have been nice if his essay followed the same order as the track listing (or if they'd at least emboldened the song titles so they were easier to pick out). Mastering, release and chart information are all top-notch.

FANTABULOUS!

this is the best collection of the doo wop era!these songs always bring back the joyous memories of old!along with my personal favorite,"there's a moon out tonight" i have to mention my beautiful sister's favorite as well,"walking along"she just is so surprised that i found that golden oldie on this great cd!! i hope they make alot more of these collections of the fantabulous doo wop era!!keeping the golden memories alive!!!!god bless,joey hoffman of dover pa,united states!!!!

real deal

when you want to hear Clear Pure untouched Vocals Sets such as these bring home the real deal.the kind of Vocals that are nowhere in sight with today's Vocalists.the harmony&tone you can drop a dime on it&it will still sparkle.the kind of Singing where you can Appreciate no matter when it was first released&find something&Great in it.