Various Artists - Capitol Records 1942-2002 [Special Box Set] (CD)

All Music Guide

Capitol Records 19422002 [Special Box Set] features six discs that dutifully cover six decades of music from the label that brought the world key recordings from the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Duran Duran, Les Paul and Poison. It's an eclectic mix, but by presenting the cuts snug within the pop culture confines of the decade in which they were birthed, the pacing never suffers. It's a club sandwich with Freddie Slack His Orchestra's "CowCow Boogie [From Ride 'Em Cowboy]," the Beatles' "Hard Day's Night" and the Vines "Get Free" for bread, and despite the fact that box sets like these (no Bsides or rarities to speak of) are dinosaurs in the age of the MP3, it's a fascinating look at the ebb and flow of the music business.

- James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide