Brooklyn Doo Wop

by Various Artists

Liner Note Author: Ed Engel.

Following the arc they've established over the course of their series of region-based doo wop compilations, Collectables opens Brooklyn Doo Wop with a group that has reached timeless stature, in this case the Tokens (famous for "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), and followed them with lesser-known artists who rank just as highly, if not higher -- such as the different Tokens responsible for the CD's closing track, "Come Dance With Me." New York City is where the label focuses most of its doo wop series, devoting a disc to Brooklyn, another to the Bronx, and two discs to Manhattan, so it should come as no surprise that so many of the artists on this set had an incredibly low profile. What's so impressive, as in all of the sets in the series, is how really amazing some of these groups were and how very few of them broke even locally, which is what makes the series such a fantastic one for collectors and casual listeners alike. ~ Gregory McIntosh