A Handful of Keys

As a label, the U.K.'s Proper does a pretty decent job of assembling a great cross-section of tracks, decent sound, and fairly annotated notes (though labels names seldom if ever appear either in liner notes or in track notations, only catalog number...hmmmm) all for a really great price. Hardcore fans of most artists will either have most or all of the material in their boxes, but those curious enough to look deeper into an artist than a single- or double-disc hits package will want to investigate Proper's catalog. This set of Fats Waller material covers the years 1922 -1943, virtually his entire professional career. Each disc has its own title and runs basically chronologically, from his solo work through his many ensembles. This is a laymen's collection, and is hardly exhaustive of any period, rather merely representative. True fans will want to seek out the RCA sets which are exhaustive in their research, presentation and execution. This is a fine introductory package, but that's it.