Reviews (8)

Fantasitic piano playing
What can I add to what other reviewers have written? This is syncopated piano music at its best.

Snappy piano playing
I haven't heard piano playing like this since I listened to a friend's collection of 78 rpm records from the late twenties and early thirties.Hassan really has a feel for this genre.

Snappy music
I was so pleased to find this CD here.This piano playing is so energizing.I agree with all of the reviews below - a gem of a CD.

Catchy tunes
I had only heard about six of these tunes before buying the CD.But the tunes are great, and so is the playing.The fast numbers are sort of like a cross between tap-dance-rehearsal piano and cocktail piano.This CD really perks me up in the morning.

superb
The tunes are great, the playing is great.What more could I want?In the words of composer Sanford Green: "this Hassan guy is some kinda Horowitz!" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

MUSIC'S GREAT, BUT IT'S NOT THE SOUNDTRACK
Please note that while this album/CD contains music from "The Jazz Singer", it is not -- contrary to the listing -- the actual soundtrack from the film.

Solid collection of Jolson film cuts
With cuts from more than just The Jazz Singer, this CD is a nice collection of movie tracks from Jolson's earlier films. In fact, except for the order of tracks, it has the same selections, and sounds much the same, as the Rhino collection of Warner tracks. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Marvelous disc, showcasing the young Bing
It's hard to find records which showcase Crosby's work with the Rhythm Boys, but this record contains much of his seminal early work. Bing's voice was a breathtaking instrument in these years, as these songs amply prove. I think his absolute height in range and expression was in the years 1931-1936, but in the 20's he had a quirky, husky and marvelous quality to his voice, as this record amply proves. If you're only familiar with the Crosy voice from the 40's and 50's, then you're in for a special treat. These recordings showcase Bing's more husky, jazz-influenced delivery, replete with scat singing, improvisations, banter with sidemen and absolutely dizzying vocal virtuosity.

Perhaps the best song here is "One More Time," a jazzy, laid-back number which Bing sings with wonderful rhythm. "Make Believe" is another jazzy classic. Another gem is "St. Louis Blues," blessed with a killer vocal performance and jazz band backup. This is an outstanding collection and one which you transform a fence-sitter into a bonafide Crosby fan.

*EXCELLENT*
This is the absolute best single-disc collection to deal with Bing's great jazz recordings prior to his tenure at Decca records. The music has been lovingly transfered by the legendary John R.T. Davies, perhaps most famous for his excellent restoration of the Louis Armstrong Hot Fives and Sevens for the JSP label.

As the title suggests, the disc is a sampling from the 1926-1932 period, and features many classic performances along with a few rarities. Represented are numbers with The Paul Whiteman Orchestra (including Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer), The Dorsey Brothers, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Gus Arnheim and His Orchestra, The Mills Brothers, and Crosby's own trio, The Rhythm Boys. We also glimpse the likes of Red Nichols, Glenn Miller, and Joe Venuti, and guitar legend and Crosby pal Eddie Lang pops up on multiple recordings.

All the tracks are brilliant, so it is difficult to single out the best ones. One that does not appear frequently elsewhere is the jazz number One More Time with Gus Arnheim, a jumpin' track essential to any Crosby jazz collection. Another one we don't see represented often enough is the Rhythm Boys number So The Bluebirds And The Blackbirds Got Together, another version of which can be seen in the 1930 Paul Whiteman film, The King Of Jazz. There are so many classics here, Dinah with the Mills Brothers, St. Louis Blues with Ellington, The Spell Of The Blues with the Dorseys, that I could go on all day. You needn't take my word for it either, as this disc has also been recommended by Gary Giddins, imminent jazz critic and author of the masterful Crosby biography A Pocketful Of Dreams.

Other fine discs which help deal with this period, and would compliment this one, are Bix 'N' Bing, Lost Columbia Sides, and It's Easy To Remember(4-cd box). A fine disc dealing with Bing's later jazz work at Decca Records is Bing Crosby And Jazz Friends.

Enjoy. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Now the time has come
I never got to hear Tom Donahue, since I was only a baby at the time, and was on the opposite side of the country anyway. Based on the aural evidence presented on this CD, he seems to have been a pretty cool guy. This is not one of his actual shows, but rather "airchecks" from some of his broadcasts, with songs he might have played inserted. Some of the songs are actually introduced by name, but obviously they were limted as to what songs they were able to license. The CD opens with Tom mentioning that one of the songs he had just played was "Come Together" by the Beatles, but of course they weren't able to license that song. One of my favorite parts is when Tom says "Here's the Youngbloods 'Darkness, Darkness', and I'm looking forward to the day I can hear this in stereo, cause it must be unreal." Then the song procedes to play, and it actually is in stereo. This CD is a fascinating time capsule, and if you are a fan of underground radio from the late '60s - early '70s, or just curious to find out about it, you should find this CD.

Right on Man!!
This cd is way too cool. Excellent choice of music and the remastering is very well done. This cd would be a huge hit for anyone wanting to relive the time and tunes, to the curious, and to those that love classic and psychedilic rock. A must have.

The essential collection
Anyone who was around in the late 60s cannot help but feel the loss of the vibrant underground music scene. The realities of the present corporate dominated mass media preclude the possibility of there ever being another vibrant musical scene. However, this recording has an amazing ability to capture the the flavour of this bygone day. I strongly recommend this CD for anyone who enjoyed underground radio on the late 60s.

Audio Tidbits From A Bygone Era
This CD was released years ago now, but it captures a little of the 60s underground FM radio era and remains a valuable and historic footnote to it. I never got a chance to hear Tom Donahue, since I grew up in Los Angeles and only very briefly heard KSAN in its heyday. It's a real pleasure to hear his resonant voice on this CD! And to hear him "rap" about the Youngbloods, or an up and coming artist, or talk about how beautiful the Pacific Ocean looked that day.

And of course the music: Spirit's Fresh Garbage, The Chambers Bros' Time Has Come Today (which sounds especially 'psychedelic' here), The Youngbloods' Get Together (to which Tom says "I can't wait to hear this in stereo. It must be unreal!"), Quicksilver's What About Me, Donvan's Hurdy Gurdy Man, among others.

They say if you can remember the 60s, you weren't really there. Well whether you were or weren't, this CD captures the feel of 60s underground radio. It makes me wish even more I'd been able to hear much more of "KSAN, San Francisco/Oakland" in its "golden era" than I actually did. Highly recommended to any radio fan who wants to hear what the "San Francisco FM underground radio sound" was really like. I'm planning on getting "Volume 2" with B Mitchel Reed and look forward to hearing that one.

The Real Deal
GOOd tunes. The full length of TIME HAS COME, full length of all. It's Fat. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Rudy Vallee shows signs of masculinety here...
Some of Vallee's earliest recordings from the 20's are too feminine, he sounds hopelessly fey. However in these sessions Vallee shows some signs of masculinety, in fact his humor and style are very pleasant on this CD, fans of jazz vocal shouldn't overlook him, after all he was a crooner, who wrked with a lot of good jazz musicians.

Not the good old music
If you happen to be like me and love that scratchy old music then you may not like this one. Its the newer recordings and his voice doesn't sound the same as it did in his hayday. Try Heigh-Ho Everybody, This Is Rudy Vallee, for the old stuff.....Happy Listening! :}

Rudy Vallee at his best
Most of the recordings that one hears of Rudy Vallee are from the twenties when recording was still in its infancy. In those old recordings his voice comes across as tinny and nasal. This album contains recordings from the thirties or forties and show Vallee at his best, with a much warmer and very pleasant voice. His version of "as time goes by" is perfectly charming, as is the "Maine Stein Song" and "A Tavern in the Town." If one is going to have a single Rudy Vallee album, this is the one to get. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Love Songs of World War II
This is one of the best CD's I own. I listsen to it almost every day! Everyone should get themselves a copy!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Superbly executed, VERY traditional
The tight ensemble, blend, and control these groups demonstrate ranges from excellent to astounding! You'd have to seek out the best classical chamber groups to hear anything comparable. But be advised, all 25 cuts on this disc really are authentic traditional barbershop. I suppose that the hardcore afficionados - and their numbers seem to be growing - will be thrilled. As a more casual fan, however, I found that the absence of the inventive harmonies, complex rhythms, and (cheap) humor of the more contemporary urban, collegiate, or jazz oriented acapella groups made this disc grow rather boring when played straight through. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Righteous Bros,
What I hear sounds good. However, You really need to have more songs to hear. I can not really review something I have not heard. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The best
Listening to Ivan Rebroff and his "Festliche Weihnacht" record has been a tradition in my family for many years.My vinyl record finally gave out while trying to salvage it onto a CD copy. Ivan must have been watching me because I wasn't able to do a complete copy.I had to break down and actually buy a "new" CD. Well worth the investment.It can now be passed down to the next generations.

Festliche Weihnacht
My father bought this record in Vienna in the early 70's. I have been listening to a worn out tape of that worn out record for the last 10 years producing it for one short precious play every Christmas. Were I in the middle of the Sahara dessert with the sun burning my bones this record would cunjure up Christmas at home and bring to mind the joy and and wonder of that holy night. This is as close as we can get to that night 2000 years ago; tangible joy hope and wonder in music.

Finally!
Holy Cow! I can't believe this is finally available on CD.Our family has been listening to this on a worn out LP for 30 years.I've been looking for the CD for the past 10 years.I've listened to lots of Christmas albums over the years and this is the best, hands down!!

Great Christmas collection for the entire year
I love this CD.The combination of the boys choir and Rebroff's deep bass voice is very appealing.I have found myself playing this the whole year, and since only a few of the songs are Christmas songs in the US, nobody else is the wiser!

Several of the tracks are wonderful, but two in particular stand out for me: "Still, Still, Still" & "Auf dem Berge, da Wehet der Wind".On these two tracks, Rebroff hits low notes that you will not hear anywhere else in the world.Even the track or two with just the boys choir on it is good.

A small comment about the "Russisches Schlittenlied" track.I think that track doesn't quite fit on this collection, since it's the only track without the boys choir, and with an orchestra in its place.Other than that, it's fine.

A small technical nit: the tracking list displayed on the CD case and on the Amazon web page does not match that on the disk.On the CD itself, Glockengelaut & Stille Nacht are both track 1, which skews the rest of the tracks by one.

To my mind, this CD is required listening for any Rebroff fan, and for anyone who likes vocal music performed well.

an extremely good Christmas album
This is a very classic and famous Christmas album, which sold very well in the seventies all over Europe. The combination of Rebroff'slow voice and the voices of the Regensburger Donspatzen (like the Wiener Sänger Knaben)is really good. The absolute highlight to me is "Auf dem Berge, dawehet der Wind" on which Rebroff's voice is very deep and low. I'malso crazy about the song "Russisches Schlittenlied" There's noway I can keep sitting still when this song is playing. Dance on it ! It'sthe ultimate Christmas album to me and it reminds me of when I was a kidand my father used to play it on dark december evenings. I recently foundthe original LP as well on a second hand market and I still feel it's themost beautiful Rebroff LP to look at. I'd like to frame it. There are somereally good songs on the "und Friede auf Erden" CD as wellthough, so if you've only got this CD, your Christmas collection is not yetcomplete. Enjoy it ! ... Read more

Album Description

Featuring music from box office blockbusters of the 70's, 80's, and 90's, this pop-oriented showcase of the talents of Sam Levine weaves beautiful melodies with the smooth sounds of soprano and alto sax.Highlighted by the Academy Award winning "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, this recording boasts pure listening pleasure. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This entire recording is absolutely beautiful!
This collection is awesome!"It doesn't get any better than this!" -- like when we were on a 33 foot pleasure craft on our trip up the Mississippi listening to this recording while playing cards waiting forthe locks to open up.Cinema Sax was a great part of our vacation anddefinitely should be part of everyone's music library.It's instrumentallyrich in sound and the sax is awesome!!If you like jazz, you'll lovethis!!

AWESOME
It hasn't come out yet, but I bet it will be good ... Read more

Album Description

If you enjoy the contemporary sounds of Kenny G, this recording is for you! This instrumental recording showcases Sam's talent with sleek '90s production and pairs him with master producer Jack Jezzro. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Crosby radio show and Christmas music is perfect combo
I personally love the old Bing Crosby WWII radio shows and I love Bing singing Christmas standards even more. If you agree, get this CD. If you have never heard a WWII radio broadcast from Bing, then this would be an excellent starting point for you. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A joy forever
Naxos has begun a most welcome new series called "Nostalgia Naxos," the first two of which entries I have heard and love! Both have great similarities and both exhibit the triumph of style over vocal abilities.

<"Sing As We Go": Gracie Fields, Vol. 1> (8.120503) gives us 18 examples of the English musical hall/film star that was idolized by millions, mostly in her own country. Recorded between 1932 and 1940, these selections are perfect examples of not only English Musical Hall fare but the inimitable way in which Fields "put over" such crowd-pleasers as "She Fought Like a Tiger for 'Er Honour," " I Took My Harp to a Party," "Will You Love Me When I'm Mutton," and the one your heard in the film "The Dresser", "A Nice Cup of Tea." Her enthusiasm is infectious, her delivery delightful, and this Naxos offering a winner.

Although this is the webpage for Gracie, I must mention the second CD. <"A Gay Caballero": Frank Crumit> (8.120502) features a personality much known and loved on old-time radio. His songs are the American equivalents of those Fields popularized--most written by Crumit himself ("A Gay Caballero," "I Married the Bootlegger's Daughter") or with co-workers ("Donald the Dub," "The Song of the Prune") some traditional ("Bohunkus"), some by other composers ("I'm a Specialist," "Plink!Plunk!"). His style is more laid back than Fields' and offers an interesting contrast. I think I have caught quite a few pre-echoes of Cole Porter.

By the way, his extremely funny monologue "No News" comes from the same source as the popular French song "Tout va tres bien." In fact, that cut alone is worth the low price of this CD. But by all means, purchase this and the Gracie Fields too. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Hot Little Numbers
This is the first time I had ever knowingly heard the Andrews Sisters. I bought this album just for something different; I love trying something completely new to me once in a while.

WONDERFUL! This whole album is fantastic, and it comes PACKED with great songs, 25 in all! I knew only the songs "Shoo, Shoo, Baby" (this was in a television commercial at some point...I only recognized it AFTER I bought the album); "Ac-cent-tu-ate the Positive" -- which you would probably know, too, regardless of your knowledge of the Andrews Sisters; and "Straighten Up and Fly Right," which was also instantly recognizable.

There are so many catchy tunes on this CD, from "Ti-pi-tin" to "South America, Take It Away," to my personal favorite "Strip Polka," which just has such cute and funny lyrics -- surprising for the time period in which it debuted (but then, she always stopped just in time...).

If you like to dance, if you like to listen to music, if you like fun lyrics that are simply classics, many of which are accompanied by the sensational Bing Crosby (and Civilization is accompanied by Danny Kaye), give this album a try, whether you know every song on the album or have never heard the Andrews Sisters in your life. Top notch music that will expand your musical horizons. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

UNBELIEVABLE ALBUM!
First let me say how grateful I am that Amazon lets the ordinary fan write reviews! This Bing Crosby Christmas album is roughly 30 years old and I had the pleasure of purchasing it when it first came out back in the early l970s on LP. I was completely knocked out by the tunes, arrangements, brilliant background chorus and finally the great unique voice of Bing Crosby singing in the twilight of his years. His sincerity, workmanship, and seemingly effortless singing is so great that he makes each of these songs sound as though it was written for him! And the fact that I am not aware of hearing any other artists sing these songs makes me think that that the album was written for him! But irregardless of that, each song sounds as if it is a bonafide Christmas classic. There is just the right amount of tradition and religious concepts worked into the beautiful lyrics that I cannot imagine a Christmas without listening to this album! Indeed I have downloaded the CD at work on my computer so I can listen to it in the office as well as home! The big mystery is why hardly anyone is aware of this album other than a few Crosby fans. This is indeed some of his finest work. Bing's voice had lowered a few notes by the 1970s but as mentioned before I can't imagine anyone singing the tunes any better! Those of you who love this album PLEASE write a review and let everyone know how great this CD is!Sincerely,Richard Pearson

Classic but relatively unknown Bing Christmas music
I found this album (under a different title, but the songs are the same) while searching through the used music section of a local store, and by golly I had been looking for most of these songs most of my life. I'd hear snippets of them here and there but I could never find where the collection was. Der Bingle's "Christmas Album" (or as my cover states, "A Christmas Toast from Bing") is a welcome addition to any household that relishes the Holiday Nostalgia from the 40's and 50's.

Great Christmas Album!
My fiance purchased this collection when he was stationed in Germany in 1978 under the title of "A Holiday Toast". He has been searching for this collection for many years and I finally found it on this website, only to see that it is not available at this time. If anyone knows of another place I can find this, I would appreciate hearing from you...better yet, Hopefully Amazon will get it back again! ... Read more