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Loved this one being a fan of the big band swing sound. Rate it highly.
I have a $5500 sound system, but it sounds like I'm listening to a $20 bargain radio when I play this CD.I bought this CD because other reviewers had given it an average score of 4.5 out of 5. I know I've heard these tunes played in full, rich, stereophonic glory on radios before, so great recordings are out there somewhere. Muffled. The tunes all sound as if they are being played at the bottom of a deep well. I'm very disappointed in this CD. Anyone know of any such CDs out there. Arrrrrgh. The entire swing band got stuffed together into that same (single) deep well.
They're amazing works of musical genius that deserve to be heard like they're being played in front of you. Nope. The only high quality thing about it is its selection -great tunes.The problem is with the sound quality. I truly love these old swing tunes. With such a high score, I'd hoped that this recording producer had used modern technology to make those wonderful swing tunes come alive. Exhumed from the grave, but still dead.Add to that, there isn't a scintilla of stereo separation. Thus, I will keep on searching for a CD that has modern sound production. I don't care whether or not the tunes are played by Benny Goodman or Tommy Dorsey themselves, I just want a high quality production of the music.
They do this flawlessly; and it sounds great even today. There's even a special number from Glenn Miller again when he and his buddies play "A String Of Pearls." "A String Of Pearls" sounds like pearls should sound--and that's quite all right by me. The quality of the sound is really rather good and I like the artwork.Benny Goodman & His Orchestra open things up with a great rendition of "Don't Be That Way (Take 1)." The horn works very well for this number and Benny's band never lets us down. The Fabulous Swing Collection is one of the better single CD compilations we have of great swing music that took the country by storm in the 1930s and 1940s. "Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing) (Parts 1 & 2)" is classic swing music at its very apex and I think you'll like it very much if you haven't heard this one before.This album is a great starter CD for people just getting into swing music; and it makes an affordable single CD swing music compilation, too. A personal favorite of mine is "Minnie the Moocher" by the incomparable Cab Calloway & His Cotton Club Orchestra; Cab Calloway could really swing and that Cotton Club was all the better off for it.Listen also for "Back Bay Shuffle" by Artie Shaw & His Orchestra; Artie Shaw instinctively knew how to make great music and "Back Bay Shuffle" showcases his talents nicely.
Of course, we can't have a swing CD without the great Duke Ellington and his buddies doing their wonderful "Take the `A' Train;" "Take the `A' Train" hit the clubs big time and when you hear it you'll instantly know why.
Glenn Miller & His Orchestra follow with their smash hit entitled "In the Mood." "In the Mood" is a number people remember well; this got lots of air play and many people danced to it back in the day.
Oh, well--no CD is perfect.The CD ends very nicely.
This music still sounds great today; and many people have fond memories of the times they danced to these tunes when they were often performed live in dance halls and nightclubs.
"Swingin' Uptown" by Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra is great; but they could have omitted "Mary Had a Little Lamb" by Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra.
Similarly, "Opus One" by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra never disappoints; "Opus One" is a peppy little number that packs a huge, unforgettable punch and I always like hearing "Opus One."Glen Gray & His Orchestra (with whom I'm less familiar) also make good with their hit, "Casa Loma Stomp." "Casa Loma Stomp" has a great beat and they never play a superfluous note.
Great.
We get two solid numbers, "Flyin' Home" performed by Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra and then "Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing) (Parts 1 & 2)" by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra.
If you like this you should consider other CDs of swing music available for sale on this website.
I was looking for some lively swing music, and this fits the bill exactly. I only wish there were hours more of it.
Really, the title and the lyrics are incidental.The same reviewer who lamented that selection, also had disparaging remarks for the "whitebread" Casa Loma Stomp, only the first of 64 hits for Glen Gray & His Casa Loma Orchestra (named after a famed Toronto nightclub which the band called home for a spell) which hit # 15 in January 1931 (this is a 1933 re-recording), as well as Bunny Berigan's rendition of All God's Chillun Got Rhythm (with vocal by Ruth Bradley). When this first came out over a decade ago from RCA Victor/BMG it was an instant winner among those Big Band fans starving for some CD material presenting the music of that era in quality AAD sound. Yes, trying to do that in today's society would go over like a lead balloon - but this was 1937 and that year both Duke Ellington (# 14 instrumental) and Artie Shaw (# 15 with vocal by Tony Pastor) had hits with it.Their inclusion in this historical volume is just fine, thank you very much. Unlike many releases at that time, it even has three paragraphs in the insert describing the usual reception for these renowned groups when their buses rolled into town, along with a re-listing of the generous (for the time) 19 tracks showing recording dates and locations.With so much to choose from in terms of material, I have to agree with those who assigned 5 stars to the tracks presented here, each in its own way representative of the music so popular from 1933 to 1940 (the span covered here). And yes, even to the inclusion of Fletcher Henderson's Mary Had A Little Lamb, a 1936 recording featuring a brief vocal by Teddy Lewis, but some of the best instrumental solos ever put to disc. As the blurb says on the reverse "Foot-tappin' favorites & jumpin' jitterbugs from the Fabulous Swing Era. Over 64 minutes of the swingin'est singles ever." And at a pretty decent price I might add.
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