Magic Moments: The Best Of '50S Pop CD

Shout Factory's Magic Moments: The Best of '50s Pop isn't a flashy box set -- apart from an introduction from Billy Vera, there's little in the way of liner notes, nor does it boast any rare or unexpected material. But that's it's charm. Over the course of three discs and 60 tracks, Magic Moments serves up many of the biggest vocal pop hits of the '50s -- songs like Doris Day's "Whatever Will Be, Will Be," Perry Como's "Catch a Falling Star," Johnnie Ray's "Cry," Johnny Mathis' "Wonderful! Wonderful!," Pat Boone's "Love Letters in the Sand," Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues," Julie London's "Cry Me a River," Pérez Prado's "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," Dean Martin's "Memories Are Made of This," Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable," and Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife." This doesn't have all the big hits of the '50s or all the big stars -- Frank Sinatra is noticeably missing -- but it does have an excellent, representative cross-section of the decade's biggest mainstream pop hits, making this is a terrific nostalgia trip (even if it would have been nice to have better liner notes to place this music in a greater perspective). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

3cds-L.Armstrong/R.Clooney/N.K Cole/P.Como/B.Darin/D.Martin