Say It Loud! A Celebration Of Black Music In America Review

07/13/2005 7:43 AM, AMG


No doubt one of the most sociologically charged boxed sets ever, Say It Loud! A Celebration of Black Music in America finds the prolific Rhino label at its best. Rhino looks back to the dawn of recorded music and moves forward to the end of the 20th century, highlighting landmark recordings by black performers that comment on what it's like to be black. There's a lot of ethnic pride here, as there certainly should -- black artists created some of the century's most celebrated music. There's a little bit of everything here: jazz musicians (Count Basie), jazz vocalists (Billie Holiday), blues guitarists (John Lee Hooker), rock & rollers (Little Richard), soul singers (Sam Cooke), psychedelic rockers (Jimi Hendrix), jazz icons (Miles Davis), pop stars (Jackson 5), funk bands (Parliament), disco acts (Sister Sledge), rappers (Run DMC), and quiet storm crooners (Luther Vandross). The emphasis is on songs with social consciousness -- James Brown's "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" being the most overt example -- rather than chart-toppers. However, there are many chart-toppers here -- there's no shortage of big hits, for sure. While no doubt both daunting and hefty with its six discs and 108 songs, Rhino's Say It Loud! features no filler. If anything, you notice the gaps. This could have been easily extended to ten discs. An encyclopedic examination of popular black music that deserves to be commended for its scope, breadth, and ambition. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide