Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens: The Big Ol' Box of New Orleans
The producers ofThe Big Ol' Box of New Orleansclaim it to be the first box set to cover the full range of music from the Crescent City--from R&B; to jazz, from zydeco to funk. Indeed, this handsome four-disc collection ranges through the decades and the neighborhoods of America's first city of music, which has both pluses and minuses. Yes, it's a joy to bask in the diversity of the New Orleans sound. FromLouis Armstrongto theMeters,Little RichardtoPete Fountain,Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queensscrambles to include a little something from a whole lot of native sons and daughters among its 85 selections. Problems, however, do arise. At times the sequencing can be jarring, as when Troy Andrews's raucous take on "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" gives way to the modern blues-rock ofSonny Landreth's "South of I-10." The obscurities here are great fun, but, given the city's rich history, they skew too heavily toward more recent releases. Still, there's much to be enjoyed here, from the photo-packed 82-page booklet to the mix of classics and hidden treasures that populate the discs. Not definitive, perhaps, but definitely delightful.--Steven Stolder