Various Artists

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Earwig Music has one of the year's most intriguing box sets and most significant historical excavations - a beautiful 124-page, 4-CD hardcover tome chronicling in words and music the story of Narvel Eatmon, a.k.a. Cadillac Baby, and his Chicago label Bea & Baby Records. From 1959-1989, the label and its various imprints (among them Key, Keyhole, Miss, and Ronald) championed the Windy City music scene with an impressive array of blues, gospel, soul, doo-wop, hip-hop, and even comedy recordings - the best of which are featured on this compelling retrospective.