There's like two weeks of dazzling analytical listening to be found on this double-CD set, unless you want to try it for the pure pleasure, which is practically infinite. On Broadway is a magnificent idea for a multi-artist compilation, and one that no U.S. label could do, because the licensing fees would be too high. The primary focus is the work of the Brill Building-based songwriting teams of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, which hardly makes it restrictive. ...
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There's like two weeks of dazzling analytical listening to be found on this double-CD set, unless you want to try it for the pure pleasure, which is practically infinite. On Broadway is a magnificent idea for a multi-artist compilation, and one that no U.S. label could do, because the licensing fees would be too high. The primary focus is the work of the Brill Building-based songwriting teams of Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, which hardly makes it restrictive. There are at least a dozen revelations for the casual listener among the 25 songs on each CD in this set. One gets to hear alternate (but equally valid) performances, sometimes predating the hits by months, of several dozen songs that became pop standards in other hands. The talent represented here includes period pop music icons (Little Eva) and up-and-coming talent (pre-Phil Spector Ronettes), pop culture footnotes (Vince Edwards, Paul Petersen, Shelley Fabares), sibling acts (Idalia Boyd, sister of Little Eva), forgotten performers (the James Boys, Myrna March), one future jazz success (Birdie Green), and a future pop/rock superstar (Carole King). There aren't any new horizons in pop music to be discovered here, just some beautiful and mostly forgotten moments, and established hits as well. The Raindrops are here, of course, as are Carole King and a handful of Barry Mann solo numbers, just to give the performing side of their early careers a nod. The notes are thorough and then some, although they're weighted toward the songwriters rather than the performers, especially where the genuinely obscure acts are concerned. And the sound is good to excellent, though a couple of the Freddie Scott numbers (but not "On Broadway") seem slightly compressed. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
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