28 Big Ones (CD - 2000)

The 28-track anthology, 28 Big Ones, is the most generous collection available of Bill Doggett's classic recordings for the King label. Doggett is best-known for "Honky Tonk Parts 1 & 2," one of the biggest instrumental rock & roll hits of the '50s, but scored numerous other hits in a variety of styles. All of the pop and R&B hits Doggett made for King are included, most of which are in a rock & roll vein, but Doggett also recorded jazz, novelty tunes, and easy listening organ music comparable to that of Earl Grant or Lenny Dee. For that reason, this anthology will hold the most appeal for collectors of chart hits and listeners with a broad interest in Doggett's career, since there is an enormous stylistic difference between "Honky Tonk," the Halloween novelty "Monster Party," the jazzy flute and organ solos of "Blue and Sentimental," and the churchly organ arrangements of pop standards like "Fools Rush In." All of the cuts are instrumental except for the occasional "Tequila"-like interjections, and even those are rare. 28 Big Ones is an uncharacteristically excellent King Records reissue as far as the quantity of music and the intelligent selection of material are concerned, but the set includes a cheap, one-sided insert, and practically nothing in the way of liner notes or annotation. ~ Greg Adams minimize