Customer Reviews

Big Band Music of the War Years (Coll) (Tin)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

when i bought this i thought that it was a set of recordings made during the 40's. not so. these are 21st century takes on these 40's big band classics. no disappointment here. while i love old-time recordings, having these great versions in all the glory of modern sound is fantastic. the sound is sooo exceptional. powerful and clear. it's as if the orchestra is in your house as the songs burst from your stereo. just a wonderful experience. and what a value! 36 tracks on 3 cds at a budget price. i wholeheartedly recommend this stuff.

This three CD set includes 36 of the best known pieces of big band music from the second World War, and provides a terrific overview of the sound of that era. If you love the strong rhythms and bold brass sounds of this genre, you can't go wrong with this collection. The box set also includes a short booklet describing the history of big band music and explaining how a big band is organized, which provides some useful insights into the music. This is the music that entertained the troops during the war and maintained morale on the home front, and is exciting, warm and nostalgic. These recordings by the BBC Big Band Orchestra are crystal clear, which might be the only flaw in the set...you almost expect to hear the scratchy noise of a phonograph record or the crackle of an AM radio broadcast.

For a long time I've been looking for a collection of Big Bands' music, every one of them give me a picture of that time, even with the noisy & "gissy" sound of those recordings. This collection bring us the better of those worlds, It's a great play by the BBC Big Band Orchestra, with all that music that bring us back to the time with no ipod, no cd and even no Cassette, with the wonderful audio projection of the Digital Era Sound.

Hope you enjoy it, like i am.

This is the best-performed modern collection of WWII-era big band songs that I have heard. To me, they sound very much like the origninal recordings, minus the obvious limitations those had in fidelity. The only minus: The original collection had 12 titles per disc, while this one has only 10. I suspect the original version is out of production, so unless you can find a good used copy, this one is probably the only game in town. Enjoy it!

WELL WORTH BUYING.....IT'S LIKE YOU WERE BACK IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY ACTUALLY HEARING IT LIVE.

This is the best C.D. set that I've ever purchased. Amazon delivers fast and with no problems.

Big Bands Years is a great gift and a great listen. I love the sounds of that era. So joyful and moving. It is fun to pop in the CD player and think back and imagine that enen though times were tough, the music helped people escape their toubles for a while.

I bought this because of the great price, not really expecting such a well-done box set. All the classic tunes from this era are here. While some of the material is for your great-grandparents, some really swings with great performances by the players. The sound is fantastic due to the 24-bit remastering. For the price (I paid about $13) you can't beat this. Nice little case and a small booklet describing the history of jazz up to the big-band era. If you need one box set of this type of music, this will not disappoint.

The songs are all here but the excitement you expect from an energetic big band is not here.

Two stars, instead of one, are awarded only because the music was recorded with modern equipment.

The performances were a big disappointment. It's like listening to background music from one of those mini-series produced by ABC television back in the 1970s. You're left thinking the horns are being played by people in their 60s, who lack the lung power to still swing.

The Cd case sucks, and the tin box is nice, CD 2 and 3 have quite a few slow tracks to it, I'm more in to the up beat Big Band stuff, but I do recommend it it's great to have around.