Posted on: Friday, December 17, 2004
CD REVIEWS
Give gift of music with these boxed sets
By Richard Harrington
Washington Post
For music lovers of the appropriate persuasion, you can't go wrong with these boxed sets as holiday gifts.
"Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: Big Ol' Box of New Orleans," Shout! Factory "Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: Big Ol' Box of New Orleans" plants you right in the middle of a legendarily diverse and influential music scene.
Along the way you'll meet jazz giants Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Sidney Bechet; rock, R&B and blues avatars Fats Domino, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Huey "Piano" Smith and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, as well as local institutions, including Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Meters, Irma Thomas, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Neville Brothers; young bloods Galactic, the Radiators and Coolbone; as well as Cajun and zydeco stalwarts Clifton Chenier, Beausoleil, Boozoo Chavis and others. The booklet offers terrific history as well as insider tips on the city's liveliest bars and restaurants by Mary Herczog, author of Frommer's New Orleans guidebook. "This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era 1960-1975," Trojan/Sanctuary With 90 tracks on four CDs, "This Is Reggae Music: The Golden Era 1960-1975" is the most comprehensive collection of classic reggae ever, a sterling overview of the breadth and depth of Jamaican music, largely drawn from the seminal Trojan label. Arranged chronologically, it kicks off with some mento (Jamaican calypso) and ska (reflecting the huge and ongoing influence of classic American R&B), before exploring rocksteady (ska played at slower tempos) and the early reggae that paralleled the rise of Rastafari and its attendant spiritual and political vibes.
