Customer Reviews

1931-32

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This compilation of Cab's early work (1931-1932) is a great example the development of his singing style and the band which became a staple at the Cotton Club. I really like these versions of 'Bugle Call Rag', 'Stardust', and 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea'. My absolute favorites, however, are 'You Can't Stop Me From Loving You' and 'Somebody Stole My Gal'. The band is tight and well balanced and Cab's singing is at its best.

I'm certain that I wouldn't be writing a note about this CD if I hadn't put it on the deck this afternoon for the first time in awhile, and, loving it again, thought to check Amazon to see what else is currently available from Chronological Classics -- I have a few of their releases and they're all first-rate.

Coming across this one (which seems to be getting pretty costly these days, along with most of the other CC releases), I wondered why it was rated only 4 stars, when it's really a nearly perfect CD. Then I saw that it was based on only one review, written before the turn of the century. Well then.

The program flows well, and the sound is uniform from track to track and actually bright in a way that closely resembles how these cuts used to sound as 78rpm records, at least when played on an electric pickup.
This is in huge contrast to possibly the majority of "restored" recordings in recent years, which remove all surface noise, but in the process shave off the top third of the recording's range. There's plenty of surface noise here, but it's not at all distracting, and anyway it was part and parcel of the original records even when they were new.

And there's the material: each cut is its own twist of genius and very much right at the [i]roots[/i] of a huge influence on American pop culture.

Plus: this music is so peppy and optimistic that you can't help but feel good, even if it's only playing in the background, and that rates fives stars all by itself, these days.

Well worth purchasing before it goes from "scarce" to "rare".