This three-CD, 84-track box set brings together the hits and rarities from
Morris Levy's New York indie label that closed down in 1977, after being in business for a 20-year period spanning the history of rock & roll's ascendancy to the top of the charts. Starting off with two million sellers on its first two releases (
Buddy Knox's "Party Doll" and
Jimmy Bowen's "I'm Sticking With You"), Roulette also made inroads in the folk and pop fields with the success of
Jimmie Rodgers and artists like
Valerie Carr and
Georgia Gibbs. The label also released some of the very best in rockabilly, doo wop, and rock & roll with
Ronnie Hawkins' "Forty Days" and "Who Do You Love,"
Tiny Tim and the Hits' "Wedding Bells," and Jimmy Lloyd's "Rocket in My Pocket." But Roulette was much more than just another indie rock & roll label, as the second disc amply proves with stellar jazz offerings from
Count Basie,
Joe Williams,
Sarah Vaughan,
Sonny Stitt,
Louis Armstrong, and
Duke Ellington peppering the catalog. The third disc picks up the pop/rock story from the early '60s to the label's demise in the late '70s, with hitworthy selections from
Lou Christie, the Hullabaloos,
Tommy James, and Alive and Kicking. The label also knew a good novelty record when it heard one, as all three discs are peppered with items like
the Playmates' "Beep Beep" and
the Detergents' "Leader of the Laundromat." For true surrealism, one is directed to
Jim Nabors doing a rock & roll version of "There's No Tomorrow," an early stab at what
Elvis later turned into "It's Now or Never." Excellent notes, stellar sound; this is one great label overview that tells the story of rock & roll and its place in the pop music scheme of things in microcosm. ~ Cub Koda