Customer Reviews

Best of the Big Bands

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

 

 

I am an avid listener of big band music. I know what original recordings sound like, and these are NOT the original recordings. Although the music is still nice, and these were performed by good musicians, I can still hear and notice the obvious difference from the originals. It just doesn't have the smoothness and "swing & sway" associated with the "real thing." It's a decent collection, but I prefer original recordings, with the original sound.

Being a fan of big bands, I looked forward to playing this CD set, especially the Glenn Miller portion. Unfortunately, I am familiar with Glenn Miller and these renditions were poor imitations. The notes on the box gave no hint as to who made the recordings. Other than a brief mention that the CDs were "made in Canada," I have no idea of the recording artists. But I strongly suspect that they are NOT original recordings, and NOT the latter day Glenn Miller band. This CD set is just okay. But, for a few dollars more I would prefer the "real thing." Color me "Disappointed!"

This is a very good box set. However, there is one thing missing: Benny Goodman's 1938 version of "Sing sing sing (with a swing)."

Nice compilation of swing.
First volume is presenting Glann Miller' hits. I didn't know that Pennsylvania 6-5000 and Chattanooga Choo Choo were recorded without vocals.
Second volume is presenting Benny the King Goodman. Mostly fifties material. I miss Sing Sing Sing and few others.
The third volume is a mixture of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Woody Hermann, Duke Ellington and Count Basie's live material. Sometimes a little too jazzy. Sound on whole compilation is great but this set doesn't include all the Best Of The Big Bands material.

This box set seemed too good to be true. However, to my pleasure I found that this collection was in fact as awesome as it seems. With all of the classics from Count Basie (an awesome recording of Ain't Misbehavin') this set needs to be a part of any Jazzer's collection. The only flaw that I saw was that some of the recordings were not very high quality because they are so old; it only occurs with a couple of songs like In the Mood and Little Brown Jug. It makes up with it by having such incredible recordings of Mood Indigo and Bugle Time.

This 3 CD set presents a wide ranging introduction to big bands and their top hits. The one question that I have is exactly who is doing the recording? There is no detail as to when the recordings were made and even who recorded them. Disc 2 refers to the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Was Goodman conducting? Or not? I don't know, but it is odd that the artist is the Orchestra and not Goodman. Not a huge deal, but it leaves some questions. . . .

The music, though, gives a good sampling of top hits and the orchestras Orchestra. that played them. Disc 1 features the Glenn Miller. Some of my favorites are included, such as "Little Brown Jug," "Pennsylvania 6-5000,"
"Chattanooga Choo Choo," String of Pearls," "In the Mood," "Sunrise Serenade," "Tuxedo Junction," "Serenade in Blue"--and a handful more.

Disc 2 is a set of hits played by the Benny Goodman Orchestra. It starts off well (I'm listening to this CD as I write this review, to keep me in the mood). "Stompin' at the Savoy" is played well, as is "One O'Clock Jump" and other tunes. Among my favorites in this CD: "Stardust," "Frankie and Johnny," "Jumpin' at the Woodside." And so it goes.

The third CD focuses on the works of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Woody Herman. Ellington's works played here include the glorious "Take the A Train," as well as "Mood Indigo/Sophisticated Lady." Count Basie's cuts include "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "April in Paris." And how cool is Woody Herman's "Woodchopper Ball."

I wish there were more information on the various hits. But, aside from that, this is a satisfying 3 CD set, bringing back a lot of memories from when I was a kid. My parents had vinyl albums with these songs; I saw some of these acts on TV, too. If you want to revisit these hits and the era in which they emerged, this will be pretty satisfying.

Disappointing. This "Glenn Miller" CD has no vocals (like Tex Beneke and the Modernaires on its Chattanooga Choo Choo cut). Makes you doubt it really is the Glenn Miller Band.

Although far from a complete compendium of 'the music that won World War II', this box set presents some of the greatest big band hits in a well-remastered format. Close your eyes and be transported to the Brown Derby, the old Hollywood Hills, Ciro's, the Stork Club, the Trocadero, and the Allied canteens of World War II... To see my novel, please go to: The Diamond Conspiracy: A Novel

This Box Set is a very valuable one (3 CDs for the price of 1 and what Cds!) and it contains some of the biggest moments in swing jazz, the genre I've just begun to explore. I think it is a very good starting point for all who aren't into the genre yet but want to know more about it. Before listening to this set I only knew "Take the A-Train", "Chu-Chu" and some standard classics but this opens the horizon and makes me want to know more about swing jazz.

Sound quality was incredibly inconsistent in the recordings. Some were barely audible and I had to fiddle with bass and treble to get a decent sound. Thats the fault not of the original recording but of the engineer of this album who did not think that the listener would be annoyed at having to do hands on adjustments throughout the album. I agree these are not all original recordings. Most of these selections are played by mediocre-at-best musicians and was positively annoying to listen to. The only thing stopping me from tossing this disc of junk recordings out of the window was that I don't like to litter. Please spend your money on something else. This is a sad, sad experience in recorded big band music.