Search - Dawn of Doo-Wop :: Dawn of Doo-Wop

ESSENTIAL BOX SET AT BARGAIN PRICE

rockinrichard | OCEAN CITY, MD. United States | 06/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an intelligently constructed overview of pre- and early
doo wop from the 1940's and early 1950's with a first class 52 page booklet and 100 songs on four cd's with excellent sound quality. You get the superstars of classic group harmony--the incomparable Five Keys on Aladdin, still the heavyweight champions of the genre;the excellent Swallows on King, Larks on Apollo, early Orioles, Ravens, Robins plus many rare and obscure items never before on CD like the Lewis Bronzeville Five and many more gems for fans and collectors. This is the finest box set in the genre so far, and at an incredible price--about one-third the cost of the Rhino boxes with a similar number of cuts. Check out other Proper boxes of similar bargains for blues, R & B, Jazz and Country. My highest recommendation."

Not quite what the title suggests, but nice

David A. Bede | Singapore | 01/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This collection really ought to be called "The Roots of Doo Wop," as it reaches back quite a bit farther than any point that could reasonably called the dawn of doo wop. For example, the song most commonly cited as doo wop's first, Sonny Til and the Orioles' "It's Too Soon To Know," turns up only on the second disk. Even among the songs recorded several years after that one, most don't quite fit into the genre. All the essential elements are there (except for the nonsense backing vocals in most cases), but they haven't quite gelled into what we now know as doo wop.



That said, doo wop fans are likely to enjoy what they do find here all the same. It's a nice sampler of early black group harmony, reaching back as far as 1940 and featuring giants of the pre-rock era such as the Mills Brothers, the Ink Spots and the Ravens, along with plenty of lovely performances from more obscure groups. Interestingly, even among groups represented here that did make some doo wop records (notably the Five Keys and the Robins), most of the selections included here are better described as group harmony than doo wop. The one clear exception is the Clovers' "Fool, Fool, Fool." Its presence at least shows how the various elements heard in the other songs finally came together. One other distinction is the adult nature of many of the songs, particularly the Larks' selections such as "When I Leave These Prison Walls" (yes, a true story).



Overall, this set lacks the innocence and exuberance of most doo wop collections, but it shows where those essential elements came from. It will probably appeal to most doo wop fans the in same way those rare early recordings on your favorite band's box set can be appealing."

Exploring Doo Wop's R&B roots.

HardyBoys.us | Long Island USA | 07/23/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Dawn of Doo-Wop doesn't really have too many true Doo Wop songs on it but instead focuses on the R&B and pop vocal group harmonies that laid the groundwork for the 50's Doo Wop explosion.

The songs on this set date from 1940 to the early 1950s and feature many seminal groups such as the Inkspots, the Mills Brothers, the Orioles, the Ravens and many others.

There are many obscure songs here and the sound quality is very good.

Also included in a nice booklet of liner notes jam-packed with information.

This is another Proper box set that excels in quality and value.



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