Rhino's four-disc box set Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words From the Harlem Renaissance celebrates the Harlem of the '20s and '30s, when the city was thriving with creativity and brilliance, not just in music, but in literature, art, drama, and poetry. Rhino intends to recreate that time with Rhapsodies in Black, picking seminal recordings and augmenting them with poetry readings (including selections read by such contemporary artists as Chuck D, Quincy Jones, Ice-T, LeVar Burton, Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett, and Darius Rucker), plus a 100-page booklet filled with poetry, testimonials, and art. It all adds up to a lively history lesson that's nearly overwhelming in its scope. Part of the problem is that the poetry, no matter how terrific it is, winds up giving the music a context that's just slightly too scholarly, so it's hard to get totally immersed in the sound. But, that's part of the point: you're not supposed to be swallowed by the music, you're supposed to reflect on it and realize where it all came from, with the assistance of the words, both spoken and written. That does mean that Rhapsodies in Black isn't the kind of box set that you put on for pure listening pleasure, but it's useful nevertheless as an entry point to a thrilling era -- after all, it's hard not to get sucked in by the music of Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson, Bessie Smith, Fletcher Henderson, Alberta Hunter, Ma Rainey, Louis Armstrong, Lonnie Johnson, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and Sidney Bechet, among many others. Yes, Rhapsodies in Black is essentially a textbook of sorts and even if it never quite shakes that scholarly feel, it's nevertheless a useful and entertaining textbook. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide