Duet tracks are a long-standing tradition in the R&B world, from classic late-'20s blues through '40s R&B (and all the way into hip-hop of the '90s and beyond). This P-Vine compilation celebrates jive duets, balancing a few of the more popular tracks of the subgenre with a lot of genuine obscurities that should bring tears of joy to the eyes of any collector who realizes how little of what was recorded during the '40s has actually been reissued. Elevator Papa, Switchboard Mama begins with a few risqué novelties from the '20s, including "Put Your Mind to It" by the Hokum Boys and the hilarious "Coldest Stuff in Town" by Whistling Bob Howe and Frankie Grigg. The two greatest R&B duet acts, Slim & Slam and Butterbeans & Susie, check in with two tracks apiece, followed by great inclusions from the obscure Grant and Wilson and Nora and Dell. A couple of great duets feature those master love sharks, Fats Waller and Louis Jordan, and Pearl Bailey and Moms Mabley gossip and cat around with a subtle ease on "Saturday Night Fish Fry." And thankfully, it's just one in a series of jive reissues that rank as one of the most important reissue series of the millennium.