Lullaby Of Harlem (Music Compilation)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: D     Music: B-

 

 

In the Passport/Koch series of continuing series of older, archival music DVDs, Lullaby Of Harlem is unique in that the songs are not broken down like music videos and that they are unified by a theme.  Here, with a clever cover of the actual Cotton Club (reminding us of how legalities have held up the director’s cut of Coppola’s film on DVD to this day) is a throwback to those days when Harlem was a vital cultural center.  The claim is that all the footage was filmed at either that landmark, the Apollo Theater or the Savoy Ballroom.  Another deviance is that the tracks are not listed on the box.  The songs and performers include:

 

1)     The Delta Rhythm Boys – A Train

2)     Louis Jordan – Let The Good Times Roll

3)     Dizzy Gillespie – One Bass Hit

4)     Count Basie – Basie’s Boogie

5)     Billie Holiday – God Bless The Child

6)     Billie Holiday – Now Baby Or Never

7)     Louis Armstrong – Swingin’ On Nuthin’

8)     Cab Calloway – Minnie The Moocher

9)     The Mills Brothers – Lazy River

10)  Nat King Cole Trio – Errand Boy For Rhythm

11)  Fats Waller – Ain’t Misbehavin’

12)  Duke Ellington – Cottontail

13)  Billy Eckstine – I Want To Talk About You

14)  Louis Armstrong – You Rascal You

15)  The Delta Rhythm Boys – Undecided

16)  Count Basie – Count ‘Em

17)  Dizzy Gillespie – He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped

 

 

One thing this set does not deviate from is that it is under an hour, barely 50 minutes at that, which always holds back what would otherwise be sets that would get higher ratings if only they had more content.  It would have even been better with such a unifying theme.  I really liked what they did here.  The only distraction was that a voiceover man announces each performer, which is annoying.  This is made worse by not identifying each song.  If you are going to do something, do it right please!

 

The picture varies throughout like these sets usually do, especially in the case of footage so old, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also average, but captures the sound about as good as its compression is going to be able to.  There are no extras, but in this case, only the chapter selection (and this review) will identify all the songs.  But the music is the thing here and some very vital performers are doing some of their greatest work in shockingly peak form.  Lullaby Of Harlem is one of the best passport music compilations to date.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo