Customer Reviews

Best Of The Big Bands

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

 

 

This collection is simply superb. Listen to "Trumpet Blues" for a 1942 killer diller! "I'll Get By" offers a great vocal by the very young Dick Haymes. "Sleepy Lagoon" is absolutely dreamy in it's introduction (a'la Debussy) and a classic performance by James and his golden trumpet (he really was THE greatest bar none of the Big Band era! If you wish to dig deeper into James (here we have the eloquent "You Made Me Love You" - his first really big hit; listen to "Cherry" (1942) "Autumn Serenade" (1945) and lastly "The Mole" his 1955 version-it's the supreme epitome & definition of swing and all it's glory; the radio program "The Swingin' Years" used it as their theme and it was my VERY favourite LONG before I heard the broadcasts!- it's truly a classic among classics. James was my second fave Big Band (My #1 is Artie Shaw) His records with Helen Forrest and his best instrumentals are legendary and they really DO stand the test of time. Listen to Helen Forrest sing "I Remember You" and you'll agree!

One of my favorite musicians and for good reasons. Harry James probably had control over the trumpet better then anyone in his time! I would say the band he had in 1943 was the best. And the female singers were excellent also. Helen Forrest, Kitty Kallen and Betty Grable. Dick Haymes did the male singing. This album shows off the band and singers very well with songs like "I've heard that song before", " I cant begain to tell you," Ciribiribin" to name a few. I would say to anyone who liked the music of this era to buy this album. Dont think you could go wrong.

Harry James' big band perhaps isn't remembered as well as the Miller, Goodman, Basie, or Ellington bands, but he was one of the Goodman sidemen - drummer Gene Krupa was another - who left to seek fame and fortune on their own. And he deserved every bit of it. His trumpet playing, his good looks, his marriage to Betty Grable - he had a lot going for him. This collection will appeal even to listeners who, while they may not have heard of Harry James, will say, "Hey, I've heard that number before." Included are several vocals by Helen Forrest and Kitty Kallen - and a Betty Grable number. The sound quality is pretty good, mostly.

As the title suggests I owe a big part of why I like Big Band Music to my dad.He grew up listening to it and as a result so did I. I usually just stick with purchasing The Best of Recordings.My favorites are Benny Goodman,Artie Shaw. But I dont think you can go wrong with any of them. Great music by talented musicians that put you in a good mood.
They all put today's so called artists to shame. Enjoy.

Harry James' band perhaps isn't remembered as well as Glenn Miller or Benny Goodman, but he was one of the Goodman sidemen who left to seek fame and fortune on his own. And he deserved every bit of it. With his trumpet playing and his marriage to Betty Grable, he had a lot going for him. This collection will appeal even to listeners who (while they may not have heard of Harry James) will say, "Hey, I've heard that number before." The sound quality is pretty good, mostly.

This collection is simply superb. Listen to "Trumpet Blues" for a 1942 killer-diller! "I'll Get By" offers a great vocal by the very young Dick Haymes with an instrumental break in between. "Sleepy Lagoon" is absolutely dreamy in it's introduction (a'la Debussy) and a classic performance by James and his golden trumpet. If you wish to dig deeper into James, try the eloquent "You Made Me Love You," his first really big hit; listen to "Cherry" (1942) "Autumn Serenade" (1945) and lastly "The Mole," his 1955 version; it's the supreme epitome & definition of swing and all it's glory; the radio program "The Swingin' Years" used it as their theme and it was my VERY favorite LONG before I heard the broadcasts!; it's truly a classic among classics. James was my second favorite Big Band (My #1 is Glenn Miller). His records with Helen Forrest and his best instrumentals are legendary and they really DO stand the test of time. Listen to Helen Forrest sing "I Remember You" and you'll agree! The other vocalists on here include Kitty Kallen and Betty Grable-James.

For such an important set of recordings of such an important artist and from such an important label (Columbia), I am EXTREMELY disappointed that the CD's linear notes do not contain any factual information about the recordings. If Columbia cannot be bothered to put in the requisite recording information data about each track (location, date, and personnel involved), information about when the individual track's were released, and information about how the individual track charted (information about whether the individual track was used in a movie or whether it followed or preceded the same song by another artist would also be nice to know).... well, should we bother? Columbia, treat your legacy and your audience with more respect and if you don't have an archivist, well, hire one!

Excellent music from the Cd, if you can stand the many skips and stops, for the first third of the entire CD. I tried to contact you for an exchange to a good Harry James Cd and at same time wanted to order another CD of Frankie Carle. What a frustration experience trying to contact you with the my requirements. If you are intersted tel me how to do this. Make it simple as I am have only a gradudate Industrial Engineer.