Doo Wop 50, Volumes One & Two

Taped during a 1999 tribute in Pittsburgh, this straightforward, live review honors rock 'n' roll's '50s and early '60s legacy of vocal groups. For oldies fans hoping to bask in nostalgia, the caliber of the hits and the inclusion of most of the groups originally associated with the recorded hits make Doo Wop at 50 a satisfying stroll down memory lane. In light of the focal importance of the songs, rather than the singers, for the majority of listeners the program's choice of material will be sufficient reason to watch, as underscored by the success of PBS's broadcast of the complete concert.

Veteran soul stylist Jerry Butler, who hosts the show, is himself a legitimate bridge between the street corner symphonies of the '50s and the more sophisticated urban pop and soul that succeeded them. Butler shepherds a lineup including current editions of the Platters, the Del-Vikings, Jimmy Beaumont and the Skyliners, the Penguins, the Cadillacs, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, and other fondly remembered groups. A competent if not exactly inspired revue band accompanies all the acts, taped performing on a set decorated with oversized portraits of '50s icons like James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, with a few vintage hot rods parked alongside to hammer home the nostalgic thrust of the night.

More impassioned doo-wop fans and rock historians, however, will be a tougher sell. If the groups indeed carry the names associated with the hits, many feature reconstituted lineups with few of the members actually heard on the original singles, a practice that can be traced back to the '60s (as with the Platters). Alternatively, more authentic lineups, like The Marcels (heard performing their galloping version of "Blue Moon" for the first time in decades), reflect their advancing years in rough vocal edges or arrangements transposed to lower keys. Given the show's inspiration (Rhino's exemplary Doo Wop Box anthologies, which unearthed both big hits and forgotten gems and placed the music and performers in a rich historical context), it would have been intriguing to provide some documentary context. --Sam Sutherland