Hillbilly Boogie

The Hillbilly Boogie box set from Proper contains some of the best "country" boogie you'll ever hear.
This set clearly demonstrates the evolution of Western Swing into what would later be called Rockabilly.
These are the original recordings and while most of them sound great, there is some distortion on several tracks.
Don't let the fact you never heard of most of these artists or songs deter you from this set - it's toe-tapping boogie at its best!

Legends of Boogie Woogie

Legends of Boogie Woogie brings you some great Boogie Woogie music from the fabled Specialty label.
There's not a bad track on this rockin' album and it's easy to trace Rock & Roll's heritage back to these early Boogie recordings.
The sound quality is excellent and there are minimal liner notes accompanying the CD

Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus

Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus was the breakthrough album for Vince Guaraldi. It's a classic jazz trio playing in the then-popular bossa nova style. Mr. Guaraldi is a master of the piano, playing in a laid back, flowing style that is a joy to hear. People are most familiar with the mega-hit "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" but the other cuts are just as good and will haunt you for days after hearing them. All-in-all, a classic jazz album that belongs in every afficianado's collection.

Al Sharpton

What a completely useless piece of crap this guy is! Why politicians keep kowtowing to him is a complete mystery. He is nothing but a self-aggrandizing, rabble-rousing blowhard. During the recent NYC transit strike he was speechifying in front of the TWU exhorting them to "Shut this city down!" Never mind that the strike was illegal and inconvenienced millions of the poor and middle class, the very people Sharpton purports to represent, all that animated dungheap wanted was a chance to get in front of the cameras. He should be arrested for aiding and abetting an illegal labor action! And let's not forget the whole disgraceful Tawana Brawley fiasco! Al Sharpton is a white-hating racist, as bad in his way as any Nazi or KKK member.

Hillbilly Hero

Hillbilly Hero by Hank Williams Sr.
The music contained herein is a great overview of Hank Williams' earlier work and includes many hits and many obscure tunes.
If you're a fan of toe-tappin' early country music or if you're a fan of the great Hank Williams Sr., then this set is definitely for you.
The sound quality is very good (although a few of the Health & Happiness show transcriptions are a mite scratchy, as are a couple of other tunes) and there a nice booklet all about Hank and the music.
"Hillbilly Hero" is another fantastic value from the folks at Proper. How they manage to produce such great sets at such a low price is a mystery to me but I hope they never stop.

Big Horn: The History of the Honkin' & Screamin' Saxophone

"Big Horn: The History of the Honkin' & Screamin' Saxophone" is one swinging CD set by Proper Box!
Many musical styles are covered here: swing, big band, boogie, bebop, R&B and more.
There's a huge selection of songs and artists and every track is great!
The accompanying booklet is loaded with facts about the music and the musicians.
The sound quality of this set is excellent.
I've purchased many of the box sets by Proper (reviews to follow!) and every one is an excellent value in terms of price and content.

New Tom Swift Series

Starting in late spring 2006 there will be a new Tom Swift series "Young Inventor".

These are available for pre-order from Amazon.com.
1: Into The Abyss
2: The Robot Olympics

These seem to be geared toward a younger readership, much like the Nancy Drew Notebooks and the Hardy Boys Clues Brothers series.