Customer Reviews

West End Blues: The Very Best of the Hot Fives and Sevens

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If you don't want to spring for a pricey box set, or your interest only goes as deep as the most essential sides, this is the best single-disc collection of the 1920's Hot Five and Hot Seven material. The most famous recordings are here - "Heebie Jeebies" (the first "scat" recording), "West End Blues", etc. - and the sound is fresh and spacious (the tracks are licensed from JSP, whose audio restoration of this material is unparalleled). Indescribably important music in a nice package. Should be in every collection of American music.

This is a great collection of the greatest bands of early jazz, Louis Armstrong's Hot 5's and Hot 7's. These recordings are each milestones in jazz history from "Heebie Jeebies" featuring the earliest known recording of scatting, and "West End Blues" which completely altered the state of jazz, and on it's own paying no attention to the other Hot 5's and 7's is one of the most influential pieces of jazz ever. The solos are beautiful and unlike anything previously recorded, and completely changed the direction jazz was heading, moving from simultaneous improvisation to passing from solo to solo like we know jazz to be today.
Unfortunately there isn't one great album to feature these recordings, since there weren't any albums. All of these recordings were generally a two sided record with only two songs. The result is many many large collections and boxed sets that can be fairly overwhelming, and unless you're a die hard fan may be overly excessive. The single CD collections are generally a multiple volume set, placed in chronological order, meaning that it takes multiple CD's to get all your favorites.
This collection covers the very best, and most essential and places them in a reasonable time frame and comes across with the look and feel of an album. The cover art, if that's important to you, is also several notches above most "Greatest hits" covers. Even if you ARE a die hard fan, and would want all of the boxed sets and extensive collections, this album puts the all of the best ones in a set a great variety in a well placed order for light listening.

You need to have this music somehow. If not, you might as well turn in your ears. No matter what kind of music you listen to, but especially if you play, you must have Louis's great work from this period.

The West End Blues is simply the greatest single musical performance of the 20th Century. Serious people I know would even argue that it was the greatest achievement of any art in the 20th century.

You need to have it either in this or some other collection. If you don't you have diminished your life. Get this collection if you cannot afford the big box set, or if you do not have the music in some of the earlier collections like Portrait of the Artist as a young man.

These records are not just good because of their decisve historic importance. They would sound wonderful if they had been made last night by a bunch of teenagers in Idaho.

I protest that one cannot give this 5000 stars!

From the first song, this is Armstrong at his best. The sound is crisp and clear and incredibly intricate. It's a treat!