Dawn of Doo-Wop [Box set, Import]

Dawn of Doo-Wop (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 19, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Proper Box UK
• ASIN: B000065AIY
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,025 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano - The Ink Spots

2. Natchez Mississippi Blues - The Lewis Bonzeville Five

3. Paper Doll - The Mills Brothers

4. Coming In On A Wing And A Prayer - The Four Vagabonds

5. Just For You - The Red Caps

6. You Always Hurt The One You Love - The Mills Brothers

7. Im Living For You - The Toppers

8. In A Palace Of Stone - The Toppers

9. To Each His Own - The Ink Spots

10. I Sold My Heart To The Junk Man - The Basin Street Blues

11. That Chicks Too Young To Fry - The Deep River Boys

12. Bye Bye Baby Blues - The Ravens

13. PS Ilove You - The Four Vagabonds

14. Ol Man River - The Ravens

15. Near To You - The Basin Street Boys

16. Together - The Ravens

17. Shorty Got To Go - Bill Johnson And His Musical Notes

18. Across The Alley From The Alamo - The Mills Brothers

19. Youre Breaking My Heart - The Ink Spots

20. River Stay Away From My Door - The Syncopters

See all 99 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

England's Proper label issued this 100-track attempt to sum up the state of black harmony groups between 1940 and 1952. Though there's a lot of incredible music from the era, this four-disc set overly concentrates on slow ballads instead of up-tempo numbers. The first disc, "Digging the Roots," begins right where it should, with tracks by the forefathers of doo wop: the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots. Unfortunately, instead of a swinging track like "Tiger Rag" or even "The Glow Worm," The Dawn of Doo-Wop programs the Mills Brothers' "Paper Doll" and "You Always Hurt the One You Love" and the Ink Spots' "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano." Following hot on their heels are a variety of groups influenced by either (or both) of the above, including the Four Vagabonds, the Toppers, the Syncopaters, the Deep River Boys, and, best of all, the Ravens. Most of these are ballads too, with only a pair of good-time, up-tempo songs: "Shorty's Got to Go" by Bill Johnson & His Musical Notes and "Boogie Woogie on a Saturday Night" by Steve Gibson & the Red Caps. The second disc, "Birdland," has 25 tracks, all by "bird" groups (the Orioles, the Larks, the Swallows, the Ravens, the Robins, etc.), while the third, "Doo-Wop Dreamin'," slows the tempo even more. Finally, the set gets moving a bit on the final disc ("Doo-Wop Dancin'"), with swinging novelties from the Swallows ("It Ain't the Meat"), the Royales ("Too Much of a Little Bit"), the Dominoes ("Sixty Minute Man"), the Treniers ("Go Go Go"), and the Clovers ("Fool Fool Fool"). Fans of doo wop will undoubtedly discover many new groups on this set, but wading through all the down-tempo material is quite a chore. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ESSENTIAL BOX SET AT BARGAIN PRICE, June 12, 2002

By 

rockinrichard "rockinrichard" (OCEAN CITY, MD. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dawn of Doo-Wop (Audio CD)

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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what the title suggests, but nice, January 23, 2007

By 

David A. Bede (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dawn of Doo-Wop (Audio CD)

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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring Doo Wop's R&B roots., July 23, 2005

By 

HardyBoys.us (Long Island USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dawn of Doo-Wop (Audio CD)

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.