Customer Reviews

Best of

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This stuff really swings. These are the original recordings. But, RCA has done such a crummy job trying to clean this material up, that it sounds like the band is down the hall, in a gymnasium.

Now this disc lives up to its billing as the "Best" of the Dorsey orchestra. It kicks off with one of the stellar and swingiest tunes of the Big Band era, "Opus Number One" (though this version is inferior to the more famous "single" version). It's hard to listen to this song and not appreciate the brilliant arrangement and musicianship displayed here. Along with Goodman's "Sing, Sing Sing" and Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" this has got to be in the top three of any Big Band all-time greatest list.

It's a pity that Dorsey has been somewhat forgotten today and shoved aside in preference of Benny, Glenn and Artie. Was he as good as those giants? No, but this disc shows that his band could swing, had a phenomenal young vocalist named Sinatra and that Tommy's trombone playing wasn't half bad. This is a must have album for anyone serious about the Big Band era.

The title of this CD, "The Best of Tommy Dorsey," is not inaccurate. It collects a number of the band's biggest hits from its beginnings in the mid-1930s through its heyday in the early to mid-1940s. But the selection could have been more extensive. As one reviewer noted, where's "The Music Goes Round and Round," the very first of the Clambake Seven recordings? "Well, Git It" doesn't appear on the CD. My point is not to go on adding recordings which I would have liked to see included myself, but to ask the question of why this CD only has 15 tracks.

You can't blame the cost of remastering. As at least two reviewers have noted, the transfer is terrible, with that ridiculous "echo chamber" sound that you used to get when remastering was in its infancy. I don't pretend to be anything like an expert, or even a well-informed novice, in the art of digital remastering. But I will say that many of the tunes which were available on vinyl in the 1970s sound better on the vinyl than they do on the CD. I can only imagine what some of them must have sounded like on 78s.

My point here--if you have access to vinyl, then go ahead and copy your vinyl onto your own CDs so you can have a convenient "play copy." I can't imagine that your CD would sound too inferior. It may, in fact, sound better.

As for the rest of the package--the liner notes sound like they've just been thrown together. There is no attempt to situate or describe the band in its historical context or significance. Little is made of Dorsey's trombone playing, beyond its technical merits, when in fact it was the sound of his horn that was the mainstay of the band. Bud Freeman, one of Dorsey's one-time tenor players is quoted for his resistance to agreeing to Dorsey's "greatness" as a player. The snide criticism, which is repeated absurdly by one of the other reviewers who high-handedly allows that Dorsey's trombone playing was "not half bad," has circulated enough in the post-bebop era (where it is recycled in some of the equally absurd contempt with which some musicians hold a trombonist like Bill Watrous) that I feel that I ought to address it.

Without a doubt Dorsey's style will appear old-fashioned to many contemporary ears, not simply because of his smoothness and vibrato but because of his insistence on strict adherence to classic melodic and rhythmic structure which was being eroded in the 1940s by musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. It would fall to Jay Jay Johnson, and not Dorsey, to reinvent the trombone as a bebop instrument. But that's not a reason to dismiss Dorsey's mastery of the instrument.

So, with all due respect to the late Bud Freeman and the reviewer below, I think I will go with the assessment of another, in my opinion, more significant reed player in assessing Dorsey's merits as a trombonist. Charlie Parker himself is said to have been enthusiastically watching, on the day of his death, a telecast of Dorsey playing. Parker is supposed to have remarked, "He's such a wonderful trombonist."

I think I'll rest my case on Dorsey's talent by saying my own musical taste is much more in line with Parker's than Freeman's, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, this recording does not do justice to that talent. My suggestion to those who are looking to discover Dorsey is this--look on vinyl.

All of the tracks on this CD are classics--but you already knew that. TD's biggest-selling records from 1935-1944 are included, several featuring young Frank Sinatra. The disc is a little on the short side, with only 15 tracks and 48 minutes of music, and I'm disappointed that a few essential TD tracks were left out ("The Dipsy Doodle" and "The Music Goes 'Round And 'Round," for example). The sound quality is disappointing too; why do record companies still insist on drenching these old records in artificial reverb? This disc sounds like many of those unauthorized cheap import CDs of big band music. I have original 78s for all of the selections on this disc, and in every case, those 65-year-old records sound brighter and clearer than this CD (albeit with a little bit of surface noise). The casual listener may not be as bothered by the sound as I am, but knowing how good these things *can* sound, it's frustrating that it's so difficult to find decent transfers on CD (another RCA TD compilation, "The Seventeen Number Ones," suffers from the same muddy, echoey sound as this disc). The liner notes to this CD are short and difficult to read--they're choppy, and consist of 1-3 sentence anecdotes about each piece. Overall, this is another forgettable rehash of classic Tommy Dorsey material. Keep looking, there must be a better CD of this stuff out there.

These musical selections and performances by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra couldn't be better. It is an outstanding collection. I've had the cassette tape forever and since it's on it's last legs decided that I better get the disc and enjoy the superior quality of a CD. Unfortunately the sharp, clear sounds usually heard on a disc are missing here. This CD rendition sounds muffled and far away. While I'm glad I do have this music preserved in case my tape breaks I'm perplexed as to why the manufacturer would release a disc in this condition. With the technology we have today I'm sure they could've done better. The brand name on the disc is Blue Bird. Perhaps you can find a different maker and get a good rendition. If you are a Big Band lover your search will be worth it---this is a must-have for any BB collection!

"I learned everything about dynamics and phrasing and style from the way Tommy Dorsey played his horn." ~ Frank Sinatra ~

Listen to this CD and let Tommy Dorsey, a.k.a. "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" takes you to a nostalgic and sentimental journey back to the era of Great Dance Bands, circa 1930s and 1940s. I just love this kind of music so a dear friend of mine once told me with my passion for standards and big band music that I "was born in the wrong era." And I believe I am! This music, which I've been hearing from the collection of my late father, who also played the piano and had an impeccable musical tastes, has grown on me and I simply love it!

This CD "The Best of Tommy Dorsey" is a collection of some of his original recordings during the 1930s and 1940s. All the 12 tracks were carefully restored and digitally remastered to a CD format. The cover photo is courtesy of Leo Walker, author of The wonderful era of the great dance bands (A Windfall book), one of the most interesting and very informative books from my collection.

Tommy Dorsey, who started with his father's marching band, played trombone, trumpet, sax and cornet. He was with Dorsey Brothers from 1928 thru 1935 -- the year their group disbanded due to "artistic and leadership differences." Their last concert together in 1935 was known as "Separation Day." Thus, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra was formed soon after that concert, and he recorded a lot of great hits such as the selections from this nostalgic CD. Tommy Dorsey reunited with his brother, Jimmy in 1953 and formed a new band but it was short-lived. The brothers' reunion was more of a hit and they were really great taken as a pair, like ham and egg, gin and tonic, or Dunn and Bradstreet, and was embraced by TV viewers of "Stage Show," which the brothers hosted for more than two years until Tommy's untimely death on November 26, 1956. And seven months later in June 1957, Jimmy passed away.

This collection features vocalists Edythe Wright on "Music, Maestro, Please" and Jack Leonard on "Marie." And not to mention Connie Haines and of course Frank Sinatra with The Pied Pipers on "Oh! Look At Me Now," "Let's Get Away From It All" and "I'll Never Smile Again."

The tracks "Polka Dots And Moonbeams" and "I'll Be Seeing You" showcase the legendary Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra's vocal style at the onset of his illustrious musical career -- a voice that defines pristine beauty and sheer perfection. Focus your ears on Tommy Dorsey's playing, which is smooth and effortless in "Opus One," "Boogie Woogie," "Song of India" and "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You."

All the 12 selections are all-time favorites of mine, but what really impressed me most is a very "oldie but goodie" song recorded in 1938 from the creative pens of Herb Madgidson and Allie Wrubel "Music, Maestro, Please." Its beautiful and sentimental vocal style by Edythe Wright.

"Tonight I mustn't think of him, music, maestro, please
Tonight, tonight I must forget those precious hours
But no hearts and flowers, play your lilting melodies
Ragtime, jazztime, swing, any old thing
To help me ease the pain that solitude can bring

He used to like waltzes so please don't play a waltz
He danced divinely and I loved him so, but there I go
Tonight I mustn't think of him
No more memories, so play
Tonight I must forget, music, maestro, please"

For big band music lovers like me, what is not to love with this CD? This is the kind of music that is so enjoyable forever and a day.

Wholeheartedly, nostalgically and sentimentally recommended.

This was originally issued as an LP in the 70's with 12 tracks and three more for this CD release. They should not have bothered. They tried to use the Cedar System to reduce the groove noise from the 78 RPM masters and it was a disaster just like that Glenn Miller set. It took the entire top end of sound range clean off and left the music distant and muddy. Too bad they didn't have the guts to go back and do it AGAIN instead of rushing this out the door.

Go with "This is Tommy Dorsey vol. 1" instead.

Good clarity, a must for TD fans. Note of interest, the "Boogie" was originally titled "Pine Top Boogie" by Clarence H. Smith, 1920.