Fats Domino - Walking to New Orleans: 100 Legendary Imperial Recordings 1949-1962 [4CD Remastered Box Set] (2002)

Fats' incredible string of smashes for the Imperial label are here in force, 40 chart hits in all (100 cuts total) including nine #1 tunes. And they were (just to remind ya): Goin' Home; Ain't It a Shame; All by Myself; Poor Me; I'm in Love Again; Blueberry Hill; Blue Monday; I'm Walkin' , and I Want to Walk You Home . A music collection without a Fats box is a slim one indeed.

In an art form characterized from its earliest days by sexually charged imagery, rebellious abandon, a fickle sense of fashion, and often disposable musical fluff, Antoine "Fats" Domino embodied none of the above. Long revered as one of the founding fathers of rock & roll, Domino scored nearly three dozen Top 40 hits from 1955 to 1963. Yet that success--second only to Elvis's during that era--belied a friendly, often low-key performing style and reverence of musical history that was ostensibly rock's very antithesis. The answers to that conundrum lie in the four 24-bit-remastered discs of this 100-track anthology, a rich chronicle of Domino's New Orleans boogie-woogie-bred R&B. If there are some distinct formulas at work here (the familiar lolling rhythms--and even lyrics--of "Something's Wrong" foreshadow at least two of his most massive hits, "Blueberry Hill" and "Ain't That a Shame," while the melody of the brief "You Done Me Wrong" can't help but recall Lloyd Price's "Stagger Lee"), Domino has honed them to perfection, selling each song with a warm, understated voice that's a sharp contrast to his distinctively rollicking piano work. Indeed, it's remarkable how consistent Domino was over the near-15-year span of this anthology; if only General Motors had decided to keep building the '55 Bel Air as long. Suffice it to say that Domino's legacy continues to inform new generations of musicians and fans, and that this generous set documents one of the true cornerstones of modern American popular music. --Jerry McCulley