Customer Reviews

Doo Wop Box 3: 101 More Vocal Group Gems

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm grateful to Rhino Records for extending their series of doo-wop box sets to a third volume. The first one is absolutely essential for anyone collecting doo wop on CD; the second is the next logical thing to buy after the first.

This time around, the compilers have mixed things up -- rather than just present a chronological set of doo wop songs, this box is split into four distinct parts: "The Hits", "The Should-Have-Been Hits", "The Celebrity Picks", and "Modern Doo Wop". With so many of the greats included on the earlier volumes, there are only a few really big hits here: "Image of a Girl", "Stranded in the Jungle", "(You've Got) The Magic Touch", "There Goes My Baby" (and that last is one I've never liked). But besides them, there are quite a few wonderful ballads ("The Way You Look Tonight", "Try the Impossible", "The Vow", "My Memories of You"), and a bunch of fun uptempo songs ("Zoop", "No No No", "Can't We Be Sweethearts").

The "Celebrity Picks" disc includes songs chosen by Robert Plant, Art & Aaron Neville, George Carlin, and others. It has a few classics ("Most of All") and some more obscure stuff that's pretty interesting. I was familiar with about a third of the songs on this box before it came out, and of the ones I didn't know, my two new favorites are both on this disc: the Clovers' "Stay Awhile" (good lyrics, great arrangement) and the Honey Bears' "One Bad Stud" (a raver).

The fourth disc, "Modern Doo Wop", surprised me by being better than I expected. I'm not a purist or a nostalgic (I wasn't even born when the songs on discs 1-3 were released), but I was afraid this disc wouldn't hold up. Mostly it does: I liked the songs by the Stray Cats, Linda Ronstadt, the Flying Pickets, the Darts, and several of the others -- and Paul Simon's "Quality" is GREAT. I could have done without the versions of "Whole Lotta Love", "Eye of the Tiger", and the national anthem: that's stuff that it's fun to know about, and to hear once, but I don't think it belongs on a "best of the genre" anthology. And how could they leave off Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time" (which is mentioned in the liner notes) -- it's the biggest doo wop hit of the past 30 years! I can only assume they couldn't license it.

The liner notes disappointed me somewhat this time: we find out very little about some of the songs and artists on discs 3 and 4. Also, to nitpick, the subtitle, "101 More Vocal Group Greats", is a bit mistaken: there are actually 102 songs here (though there are two versions of "Looking for an Echo" on disc 4), but three of the songs on disc 3 were included in one of the earlier boxes -- so there are only 99 MORE tracks here.

There are several songs on here I don't care for, even a couple on the "Hits" disc. But overall this is a good collection -- it doesn't match the first box, but how could it?

This series has introduced me to a lot of good music --I'm ready for Box No. 4 anytime.

Most people will compare this with the fabulous box sets I and II, unfortunately. This set doesn't have quite the sparkle of the first two, but is still great. I think Rhino should be complimented, but derided, for trying something a little different in this third offering. Regarding Disc 3 (entertainment figures' picks), the intriguing liner notes put their choices into good perspective. It seems Disc 4 ("modern" doo wop) offends a lot of people, but I think it's a fun disc. It clearly shows doo wop's pervasive influence on pop music. And it's obvious the modern groups are performing with love for the genre, and not in comic parody. A solid B+ , warranting any doo wop fan's purchase.

I waited forty years for something like Doo-Wop Box Set and Box Set II. I bought both and was thrilled with both. Box Set III leaves something to be desired. They could've quit with discs 1 & 2, better luck next time with Box Set IV........keep it pure!

One of the worse selections of Doo Wop I have purchased. The first two CDs are good and keeping with the high standards of Rhino. But the third and fourth CDs are just not there. The Celebrities (3rd CD) must not be listening to the same good Doo Wop that I enjoy. The fourth CD is nothing to rave about. Some of the artist come close...but most are not there! So much good Dop Wop music out there that could have been placed in this collection. A real disappointment!

This is my third doo wop box and i've been waiting patiently for 4 years for this third installment. Disc one of this set hits the mark extremely well with solid R and B groups and hits.The following discs get off into unfamiliar and none-hit territory a little too much-particularly discs 3 and 4. Some great under- rated classics should've been a must on this set like- The Girl I love -from The Cadillacs,In My Diary from The Moonglows-White CLiffs of Dover by The Checkers,The Way You Dog Me Around from Nolan Strong and The Diablos was a top 10 R and B hit from 1955, and This Is The Night from Billy Storm and The Valiants,and A Fallen Tear from The El dorados, all of these should've been a must for this package. Most of the songs on disc 2,3,and 4 are lightweight compared to the aforementioned songs. The pre mentioned tunes are'nt just favorites of mine. I'm a 30 year doo wop dj and collector who has worked radio and night clubs in every region in the US and these are some of the doo wop tunes that have become universal on my most requested list, plus they are all well crafted doo wop classics if you have not heard them seek them out on other compilations. Although I feel the songs on disc 2,3,and 4, are lighweight doo wop songs-and this is coming from the foremost doo wop expert in the US-IT'S STILL AN OK PACKAGE FOR US DOO WOP LOVERS, so get it and enjoy-- it just could've been so much better, but such is life.I give it 3 out 5.

...While it's true that "The Doo Wop Box III" is not quite as consistent as "Box I" and "Box II," it's still an amazing compilation. I, for one, am glad that Rhino decided to compile a disc of modern doo-wop to show that the form isn't just a dead relic of the distant past. Doo-wop fans who don't know about The Persuasions are missing out on some great music. They certainly deserve to be included in a set like this. (Though I wouldn't necessarily have picked "Looking For an Echo" to represent them.) Doo-wop doesn't HAVE to come from the 1950s or 60s to be "pure." Just listen to the Neville Brothers' version of "We Belong Together." You're telling me that's not gorgeous, glorious music? Get real!

My only quibble with this set is that it includes a handful of tracks I already owned from the previous DWB sets. But that's such a minor detail that it hardly seems to matter. Not when it's offset by the inclusion of such mindbending tracks as "Newly Wed" by the Orchids -- which I never would have found had it not been for this set.

I wish that I could give this collection more stars. Boxes 1 and 2 were incredible, but it sounds like Rhino is really scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Discs 1 and 2 are decent, 3 other than repeating a couple of songs available on the first 2 boxes (hello people! who is your target buyer? people who already own boxes 1 and 2 perhaps?....duh). Disc 4 was a remarkale misstep, taking Doo Wop out of the 'classic' venue and transporting it into the 'modern' age. It's nothing short of a small miracle that the majority of songs do pull it off (yes it is THAT "Whole Lotta Love" and THAT "Eye of the Tiger" in Doo Wop format). Still, for the price of this box set, getting songs that I already had owned (regardless of the star's picks) and a whole cd of 'interpretations' of Doo Wop standards was a sad affair and Rhino is a better lable than to pull this on a listener. You got me this time... if there is a Doo Wop Box 4 (and I doubt it) please don't trick me again.

Ah yes!...

The era when four or five guys could be harmonizing on a streetcorner one day; in a recording studio the next, and a week later hear Alan Freed play their record on WINS...

This third Rhino box set doesn't hold a doo wop candle to the first two, but it has enough to reccomend it....

Examples: At long last "Here I Am Brokenhearted" by the Four Jays on CD......a sensational "Sheik Of Araby" by the Colts, and the amazingly beautiful "Mio Amore" by the Flamingos...

The fourth disc of "Neo-Doo Wop may offend some purists, but who cares???

Most of the doo wop purists I know are pain in the a-- bores...

Besides this is doo wop, not Mozart....

Next time around Rhino don't forget "Fat Fat Fat Momeo" by the Chalets!

In my (and that of many) opinion, the first Doo Wop Box is as essential a set of CDs as could be created. Doo Wop Box II was a welcome follow-up to this admirer and holds well on its own as a collection. With Doo Wop Box III, we are treated to a nice collection of tunes but are more inclined to feel as though we have to work a bit to find them among a series of misplaced selections and repetition.

The term itself may only loosely describe some of the tunes you hear, but that is not truly an issue. Even the first boxed set had a few selections that some may say should not be regarded as Doo Wop.

The first two discs of Box III march on strong from where Box II left off. Disc 1 is described as 'The Hits' and there are indeed some really big hits. Disc 2 is described as 'The Should-Have-Been Hits' and contains a nice collection of tunes by The Harptones, Cleftones, Heartbeats, Earls, El Dorados, Lewis Lyman, and others. The original 'My Juanita' by the Crests makes a welcome appearance after their 'live' version was placed at the end of Box I.

Disc 3 on the other hand appears to be more of an incentive for buyers just a bit outside of the fringe, but it doesn't really work. It's described as 'The Celebrity Picks' and starts off very, very well with picks from Tim Hauser and Dave & Phil Alvin but then (outside of Dion's great picks) seems to be little more than an excuse to feature the names of Robert Plant, Frank Zappa, Keith Richards and Paul Simon (who, incidentally, appears in this set as artist in Disc 4) as pickers. The last three picks all appeared in previous sets which actually makes this Box III '98 More Vocal Group Gems', not '101' as proclaimed on the cover.

Disc 4, though likely not welcomed by purists, is still a nice set of tunes described as 'Modern Doo Wop' and contains songs issued between 1972-1998. Though the Beach Boys 1966 recording of 'Barbara Ann' appears as well, it can't truly be regarded as 'Modern'. Paul Simon, The Stray Cats, Boyz II Men are mixed in with great tunes by Big Sandy, Little Isidore & The Inquisitors, and other lesser-known artists.

As noted, the last three tracks on Disc 3 are duplicates. *Money Honey* (Box I/Disc 1], *Maybe* (Box I/Disc 3] and *We Belong Together* [Box II/Disc 3] might give people the sense that there's little more that can be expected from this series, but that shouldn't be the case. For example, I was certain - given a total of 12 discs in three boxed sets - that the Quotations *Ala-Men-Sy* would make an appearance if not in Box 2, Box 3. Their famous a-side *Imagination* makes an appearance in the first Box (disc 4) and the obscure group had only one other notable cut. But this is not truly a debate as to what should make an appearance as much as to say that there's plenty more out there.

The point is this: This Doo Wop Box series could have been brilliant. A 4 or 5-set collection with room for fun debate on what great tunes still linger out there. But when the third box is so notably flawed, you wonder if Rhino's own poor judgment caused them to reconsider the thought of expanding this series due to lack of interest drawn from the third set. And if that's the case, it's really too bad for us.

Doo Wop Box #3 has its moments - there are many really good tunes on it - but it falls far short of the first two sets, which were excellent. Disc 3 contains a couple of tunes that were featured in the first 2 sets but otherwise has some really scarce tunes. Disc 4 in this set is a complete waste of time and is suitable for use as a frisbee or coaster. Rhino really dropped the ball with this set. Buy the other two sets before investing in this.