The Definitive Collection
devoted to
Louis Armstrong
takes a reverse chronological view of the
pop
giant's career, a format that functions surprisingly well considering its intended purpose. Beginning with his last major performance, 1967's
"What a Wonderful World,"
the disc takes listeners on a 75-minute tour that pays closest attention to his
and vocal landmarks of the '50s and '60s with his
All-Stars
group, but also reaches back to 1938 to pick up the best moments of his excellent
big band
. (That leaves, of course, his seminal
Hot Five
sides out in the cold, to be picked up elsewhere.) Also briefly surveyed are his multi-album collaboration with
Ella Fitzgerald
, his lush "
Louis
with strings" albums arranged by
Russ Garcia
, his hit duet with
Bing Crosby
on
"Gone Fishin',"
and the series of songs (
"Blueberry Hill,"
"Mack the Knife"
) that lengthened his sheet to include not only
Jazz
Age hero and
swing
progenitor, but also postwar
stalwart. Clearly, the career of
the
jazz
artist can't be covered thoroughly with anything but a box set that selects material from his entire working life, but as an overview of
singer,
is peerless. One caveat:
Armstrong
's best latter-day
song,
"We Have All the Time in the World"
(from the 1969
James Bond
vehicle
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
), is sadly missing in action. ~ John Bush