Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Muscle Shoals Blues
2. Birmingham Blues
3. Henderson Stomp
4. Rusty Pail
5. Blue Black Bottom
6. Fats Waller Stomp
7. Savannah Blues
8. Geechee
9. Thou Swell
10. Handful of Keys
11. Minor Drag
12. Harlem Fuss
13. Numb Fumblin'
14. Gladyse
15. Valentine Stomp
16. Smashing Thirds
17. Lookin' Good but Feelin' Bad
18. Won't You Get Off It Please?
19. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby
20. Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid
21. I Wish I Were Twins
22. Do Me a Favor
23. Then I'll Be Tired of You
24. Don't Let It Bother You
25. Have a Little Dream on Me

Disc 2:

1. Serenade for a Wealthy Widow
2. How Can You Face Me?
3. Sweetie Pie
4. Believe It, Beloved
5. Dream Man
6. Breakin' the Ice
7. African Ripples
8. Alligator Crawl
9. Viper's Drag
10. I'm a Hundred Percent for You
11. Night Wind
12. I Believe in Miracles
13. I Ain't Got Nobody
14. Clothes Line Ballet
15. Lulu's Back in Town
16. I'm Going to Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
17. You're the Cutest One
18. Dinah
19. My Very Good Friend the Milkman
20. Twelfth Street Rag
21. There'll Be Some Changes Made
22. Sweet Sue
23. Truckin'
24. Sugar Blues - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
25. Rhythm and Romance

Disc 3:

1. I'm on a See-Saw
2. When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful
3. I've Got My Fingers Crossed
4. Little Bit Independent
5. Fat and Greasy
6. I Got Rhythm
7. All My Life
8. Christopher Columbus
9. It's a Sin to Tell a Lie
10. Black Raspberry Jam
11. Fractious Fingering
12. Paswonky
13. Until the Real Thing Comes Along
14. Curse of an Aching Heart
15. S'posin
16. I'm Sorry I Made You Cry
17. Nero
18. Spring Cleaning
19. Honeysuckle Rose
20. Smarty
21. Blue Turning Grey Over You
22. Keepin' Out of Mischief Now
23. Joint Is Jumping
24. Everyday's a Holiday
25. Two Sleepy People

Disc 4:

1. Yacht Club Swing
2. Spider and the Fly
3. Good Man Is Hard to Find
4. Hold Tight
5. 'Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That Cha Do It)
6. London Suite: Piccadilly/Chelsea/Soho/Bond Street/Limehouse/Whitec ...
7. Squeeze Me
8. Your Feet's Too Big
9. Darktown Strutters' Ball
10. I Can't Give You Anything but Love
11. Fats Waller's Original E Flat Blues
12. Pantin' in the Panther Room
13. Carolina Shout
14. Chant of the Groove
15. Buck Jumpin'
16. Your Socks Don't Match
17. Jitterbug Waltz
18. Swing Out to Victory
19. Ain't Misbehavin'
20. Waller Jive/Hallelujah

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115271 in Music
• Released on: 2004-06-28
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Import
• Dimensions: .49 pounds

Customer Reviews

One of the best of the series
We may now be in re-issue heaven and the PROPER BOX series are up to No 72 as at Sep 2004. To my ear, some of the music now sounds dated such as the bebop saxophone re-issues, or some of the swing music of the forties. Duke Ellington of any period but perhaps especially from 1926 to 1944 still seems brilliant to me, and modern. Similarly, Louis Armstrong seems immortal. And this PROPER BOX of FATS WALLER is in that company. I find it difficult to name a musician of such calibre who was also a consummate entertainer who could redeem some musical rubbish just by his performance. My first record was a 12" 78 which had BLUE TURNING GREY OVER YOU on one side HONEYSUCKLE ROSE on the other. Both these sides - works that almost define what it means to swing, which combine rhythm, harmony and melody in such a delicious combination, both recorded in 1937 - are included in this Box Set of four CD's. The accompanying Booklet has 48 pages of biography, posters, photos, recording details, and biographical information as well as notes accompanying the records by JOOP VISSER. My one disappointment is that the set contains no records of Mr Waller on a large organ has he did record some Spirituals in England which were stunning. (He is featured on organ and piano on a number of tracks in the set though I assume it is a Hammond). Some of the music - such as I'M ON A SEE-SAW - are classics of swing music; others - I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES made acceptable by Mr Waller: none are filler. For music lovers of 20th Century music, this is an essential purchase of a compleat musician at the peak of his powers exuding the joy of creating some of the best swing ever.

Handful of Keys
I bought this package of four CD's about five months ago, and believe me, there are very few days go by when I don't have one or more playing on my stereo. The transfers from 78's is remarkable. If you like Waller, you gotta like this ... and I'm not misbehavin'. Buy it and smile, smile, smile. It's fabulous. Oh yes and it's a great price for four CD's each of which lasts over 70 minutes. Go get it ... now.

Well..ALL RIGHT!! A super representation of Fats Waller!
I've owned the RCA sets The Early Years, Middle Years, but this is one of the best compilations spanning his entire career in one set. I'm partial to his earlier period (1934-36) but this set covers his career from real early 1922 solos to his untimely death in 1943, but its all good. Fats Waller was one of the greatest jazz pianists in history. His carefree singing and tickling the ivories always make me feel better. When I'm stressed out...I put a little bit of his music on my player..and all of a sudden..everything's OK again. The only knock on this wonderful set is that they did not include the original 1934 version of the instrumental (There are many in this set which speak of his piano prowess) Clothes Line Ballet, one of his most beautiful. Instead, they included a radio transcription from 1935 that sounds more like a radio comedy antic than the 1934 original. I believe that master cut has been ruined because on "Turn On The Heat" on RCA, it audibly shows that cut to be warped. All in all, if you're new or old to Fats, this is a satisfying box set. The enclosed booket is excellent with many pics, record dates, personnel and stories about Mr. Waller, who remains to this day, a giant in jazz. "Oooo....your lower extremeties are really obnoxious" (Your Feet's Too Big) Great job from Proper Records, as usual.