Search - Various Artists :: Doo Wop Box

Timeless Music, and Rare Treasures!!!

P. B. Reynolds | North Carolina | 04/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"WOW! Well, after reading the reviews written here for this set, I went out yesterday and bought it, pretty much on a whim! But this was one of those rare occasions where my whim has actually paid off in spades! First of all, I should say that I'm 19 years old (okay, I'll be twenty in eleven days, but I'm still a teenager at heart!) so, needless to say, I never had the opportunity to sit at a Bronx apartment stoop, harmonizing with four other guys about lost love and moonlit nights. But sometimes, when I listen to this music, I feel like I could very well have been there in a past life! And as far as this set goes, well, it's pure magic! From the first note 'til the last, this box takes a thorough and enjoyable look at the entire doo-wop genre. I learned more about doo-wop's history from the amazing companion booklet than I ever have from any other source. I always used to think that all doo-wop was pretty much the same no matter what year it was released in. Not so! In fact, as it turns out, the doo-wop sound changed so rapidly that you can hear subtle changes in the musical approach from YEAR to YEAR! And in fact, doo-wop falls into three distinct sub-eras; the initial R&B movement of the late forties when groups like The Ravens splintered off from more traditional black vocal groups of earlier years, the acceptance of the music by white America in the mid-fifties and its fusion with rock & roll, and the early 60's doo-wop revival, due in large amount to Italian groups like Dion & the Belmonts, and conscientious record collectors who brought doormant singles to deejays, who made hits out of them YEARS after they were recorded! That means that doo-wop, in some form or another, existed actively in three decades! That's a lot of great music, and this set tackles all of it with outstanding gusto! As a bit of an early-rock historian myself (at least in my own mind ;-), I do have a small bone to pick with the head compiler of this set, who asserts that while groups like the Ink Spots were catering to a mostly white pop audience in the 30's and 40's, the Orioles recorded the first "real" doo-wop tune "It's Too Soon to Know" in 1948. As popular as that theory is and as widely-held as it is among doo-wop aficianados, I'm afraid I just don't see it. The Orioles don't sound any more "doo-wop" than the Ink Spots themselves did! In fact, in my mind, the Ink Spots have just as much doo-wop street cred as the Orioles do, and they started all the way back in 1939 with their countrified, harmonically-satisfying ballad "If I Didn't Care". The Orioles didn't really have any quality to distinguish them from the Ink Spots, so I'd have to say that the first "real" full-fledged doo wop tune was the SECOND song on this set "Count Every Star" by the Ravens, from all the way back in 1950! A beautiful song that gives me goosebumps every time I hear it, especially when I hear that soaring falsetto doing vocal loop-de-loops at the beginning! While this whole set is pure gold, I'd have to say that the first disc is my favorite because it encompasses the spirit of pure black streetcorner music, before it became commercialized and before it was fodder for novelty tunes. My favorites of this set are the really obscure old gems from the days when this was the stuff you REALLY didn't want your parents to hear, some of these that I had never even heard before, like "Gee" by The Crows, "Why Don't You Write Me?" by The Jacks (I wish to Heaven that I could find out who that lead vocalist is, he's fantastic!), "Mary Lee" by The Rainbows, "Come Back My Love" by the Wrens, "I" by The Velvets, "Hearts of Stone" by the Jewels, "Sh-Boom" by the Chords, "A Sunday Kind of Love" by the Harp-Tones, "Story Untold" by the Nutmegs, and OF COURSE "Count Every Star" by the Ravens! The later days of doo-wop are just as great to listen to and maybe even more developed stylistically, but never again was it at its purest, most emotionally tormented form. The later discs in this set are fabulous also, with all the feverish and fun doo-wop rockers that were to come along in the rock era and some truly classic and well-known tunes by the Skyliners, the Cadillacs, the Dell Vikings, the Capris, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers etc. as well as some of the great white and Italian streetcorner groups that picked up and carried the torch of doo-wop in the revival period, but I think the last two discs are brought down just a TAD by one or two not-so-great novelty tunes that wouldn't have been missed if they had stayed in the doo-wop vaults (did we REALLY need "Pizza Pie" by Norman Fox & the Rob-Roys?! Uggh!). All criticisms aside, this is still THE set to buy! And even though it's a bit pricey, the informative and lovingly rendered booklet alone is worth half of the price tag just for what you'll learn from reading it, and you get some really rare songs here (from all three eras) that you WON'T find in other collections and, probably, many that you've never heard before and that you'll be glad you met! If you lived through this period, you'll relive some priceless memories, and if you're like me and you didn't see this music's heyday, now is the perfect chance to get it and create some priceless memories of your own! Keep rockin'!"

Not definitive but a great place to start.

P. B. Reynolds | 08/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Doo Wop has not been treated this great ever. Once again, Rhino has done a fantastic job. Many phases of the music is sampled. The familiar is here, but the real gems are the songs that are not played on oldies radio stations because they weren't hits. Many of the original recordings are featured, such as "sincerily" by the Moonglows, not the tepid remake by the McGuire Sisters. How about "Little Darli" by the Gladiolas, not the Diamonds. As an afterthought, there is a great booklet with the set. The price may seem a little high, but try to get these songs on four discs anywhere else. It's impossible!!! This set is for the novice and expert of the Doo Wop idiom. After hearing this, I am saving up to buy the second set. One reviewer said it was not as good as this set. If it is half as good, it will be worth the price. Absolutely wonderful stuff!!!"

Superb box set

P. B. Reynolds | 12/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of my favorite box sets. You'll love the hits and the gems you'd forgotten or never heard before. If the price is too high for your interest in Doo Wop, consider getting the one-CD Rhino compilation drawn entirely from this box set, "The Best of Doo Wop Uptempo" (but again, you don't need both, as all the tracks on that CD are in this set). This box set has an outstanding booklet with essays, group photos, and historical track information. Excellent remastering. Pricey, but a very good value. Highest recommendation."