The Boswell Sisters

• Shout, Sister, Shout! [Retrospective, 2014] A

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Shout, Sister, Shout! [Retrospective, 2014]
Three New Orleans sisters led by polio-stricken Connie, the Boswells only recorded until 1936, but they were so prolific and original that except for Billie and their fan Ella they were not just the premier jazz singers of the decade, rewriting melodies at will, but pop stars with a dozen top 10 singles. The Boswells didn't just imitate instruments when the fancy struck them, they sang as though they were instruments, outswinging both the '30s competition and such heirs as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. They're well-represented on the reissue market--if you can't land this 52-track double-CD, there's suitable competition out there. But since they were prolific enough to rack up some less than thrilling also-rans, make sure whatever you buy permits you to burn the right best-of. This one, say: "Heebie Jeebies," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "The Darktown Strutters Ball," "Shout Sister Shout," "It's the Girl," "When I Take My Sugar to Tea," "Dinah," "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea," "I Found a Million Dollar Baby," "You Oughta Be in Pictures," "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," "Shuffle Off to Buffalo," "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing," the statement of principle "Was That the Human Thing to Do?" and last but definitely not least, a first called, believe it, "Rock and Roll." A