Search - Various Artists :: Back to Black 1900-1999

Tries to do too much, but succeeds in doing a lot

T. Davis | Seattle, WA | 12/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Putting the musical contributions of African-Americans into perspective is a daunting task, but at the close of the century, a group of execs at Universal decided they should do it. Fortunately they chose to take ten full CDs and a long essay, complete with photos and historical context, to tell the story, creating in the process a sort of 20th-century time capsule.



The collection focuses on popular vocal music, so jazz is largely ignored (though at least they didn't leave out Miles Davis or John Coltrane), and it condenses the first half of the century (1900 - 1945) into a single disc. But their choices for that disc are impeccable: Scott Joplin, Louis Armstong, Paul Robeson, Bessie Smith, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Robert Johnson, Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Nat "King" Cole, and more than a dozen other giants give props to a representative slice of Black artists.



None of the nine remaining CDs covers more than 8 years. But what years they were! The choices on these discs are generally as judicious as on the first disc, though with the greater space, a bit of dross slips in, particulary in CD 7 (Disco Inferno) and the last few discs, where a lack of time and perspective make it difficult to judge what really is of lasting value. But the first six are to die for, especially the soul sides (CDs 4 - 6). Almost without exception, the songs included are ones the performers are most famous for (and justly so).



Since there are 220 sides in all, however, there are dozens of performers and performances that you may have forgotten or never heard, and they flow together well. And the box is a great conversation-starter: what recordings would you have included or left out?



Only ten singers rate more than one cut, but no one could begrudge the likes of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, James Brown, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye. A sprinkling of blues greats (among them B.B. King), rock (Jimi Hendrix), reggae (Bob Marley), pop (Michael Jackson), and rap (Public Enemy) round out the collection. Recent hits by the major stars of hip-hop and rap are well-covered."