Albums: The Sound of the City

Stateside

Before he became radio's pre-eminent champion of world music, Charlie Gillett wrote the definitive account of American pop's regional development in The Sound of the City. Three decades on, this series of five double-CD compilations effectively makes his book audible, each album dealing with the recording history of a different city (New York, LA, Memphis, Chicago and New Orleans). At around 40 tracks per set, the scope is vast, and Gillett's taste virtually unimpeachable, restricted only by the licensing strictures that prevent him including, say, the Doors on the LA compilation, or Elvis on the Memphis one. Not that the absence of such familiar names detracts from the overall impact: given the chance to hear "LA Woman" and "Heartbreak Hotel" again, or to discover such lost gems as Travis Wammack's "Scratchy" and Garnet Mimms' "A Quiet Place", I know which I'd go for. The LA and New York anthologies are the most varied – they switch deliriously between rock and jazz, punk and country, doowop, salsa, gospel and pop – while the other three cities, through their strong connections to the musical developments of a specific era (Memphis rock'n'roll and soul, Chicago blues, New Orleans R&B) are less wide-ranging, and less modern, though no less entertaining and instructive for that. Highly recommended.