Critical Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
The producers have, according to jazz historian Scott Yanow, collected "every locatable alternate take and rejected excerpt, as well as eight sides privately recorded at a house party" and compiled them with more readily available material. The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz describes the Spotlite box set as "an essential aid in appreciating the scope of Parker's invention from take to take", concluding that "his brilliant body of work is indispensable." The Guardian also describes the recordings as "essential". The UK publication selected the Spotlite box set to represent Parker in its 2007 series on "1000 albums to hear before you die", noting that "timeless themes..., inspired improvising and radical vision make these epochal episodes in modern music". In his review, Yanow notes several problems with the collection, including a "glaring" inaccuracy regarding Parker's medical history in the liner notes and "scratchy surface noise" on some of the tracks, but praises the collection for its informativeness and comprehensiveness, indicating that "those who truly love Charlie Parker will cherish these artifacts, warts and all."
Read more about this topic: Charlie Parker On Dial
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