From Battersea to Broadway [Box set, Import]

George Shearing (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 18, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Proper Box UK
• ASIN: B0000630XC
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,071 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. How Come You Do Me Like You Do

2. Stomp In F

3. Blue Boogie

4. Squeezin The Blues

5. Southern Fried

6. Missouri Scrambler

7. Wednesday Night Hop

8. Overnight Hop

9. Dinah

10. Jive Bomber

11. Delayed Action

12. Jump For Joy

13. Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar

14. Champagne

15. Honeysuckle Rose

16. How Could You

17. A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody

18. These Foolish Things

19. More Than You Know

20. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

See all 97 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Early recordings by George Shearing have been usually been reissued in a scattershot, rather incomplete fashion, but this 97-track boxed-set compilation includes just about everything he recorded between 1939 and 1951 for labels such as Decca, Parlophone, Ace of Clubs, Savoy, Discovery, and MGM, along with a few songs that made their first appearance a few years ago on a Hep CD. While not every cut is memorable, one can hear the pianist's style evolve over the time frame from a Teddy Wilson-influenced swinger into the famous locked-hands player who was equally at home in bop. Shearing also was a very capable accordion player in his early years, which he demonstrated on a Leonard Feather-produced recording session. In addition to his earliest recording of his famous quintet which added vibes, Shearing is heard extensively as a soloist, in trios, and in two rarely reissued collaborations with Stephane Grappelli. Joop Visser's extensive liner notes are an added bonus. Even though a serious Shearing collector may already have many of the selections in this set, the vastly improved sound, the proper documentation of the musicians and composers, and the thoroughness of the scope of this release make it an essential purchase. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, June 13, 2002

By 

AnotherMusicExpert (Duluth, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Battersea to Broadway (Audio CD)

I guess I'm probably just a fan of George's smooth later 50s & 60s sound, I think that material is just phenomenal. As for this box set: it includes a very informative booklet, but the sound quality is dull, not crisp at all and it just turned me off enough that I stuck my copy on eBay.

It was like listening to an AM radio broadcast & as excited as I was to get this, I didn't add it to my collection for long simply because of the sound quality, certainly not the performance. If you can get past this fact, it is a very good compilation of his early material (as early as 1939).

5.0 out of 5 stars A jewel of its time, May 20, 2011

By 

R. P. Dean - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: From Battersea to Broadway (Audio CD)

Yes, the recording is primitive compared to today's standards. That doesn't stop us from listening to Robert Johnson, does it? And the quality here is way beyond those seminal blues recordings. Maybe it's because I'm such a Shearing fan, but I love the heck out of this box set. The performances are wonderfully crisp and precise (what else would you expect from Shearing?) For the pittance that this set goes for (mine was $14 bucks plus shipping), it's worth many times more. I've got a ton of Shearing's recorded work, and I'm sure glad that I added this to the collection.