Customer Reviews

Bing Crosby Meets Al Jolson

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3 star:		(1)
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If you loved last years' "Swingin' With Bing" radio performance box set on the Shout Factory label, you're sure to love this new 2 CD set on the Sepia label. It contains all of the duets Bing Crosby performed with Al Jolson on radio, from both Bing's shows, circa 1947-50, and Jolson's own 1947-48 KMH, in addition to a healthy dose of solos by each performer. The remastering job is fantastic....you've never heard these old transcriptions sound so fresh, crisp and clear as they do on this new compilation. Ken Barnes and his production team are master craftsman at painstakingly restoring the audio of vintage recordings and correcting them to play back at their proper speed. Kudos once again to Ken and company (who also produced the 3 CD box set "Swingin' With Bing") for a job well done. I heartily recommend it to everyone.

Ken Barnes,music writer/producer/historian has done it once again.Those that recall his seminal CD sets of Bing Crosby's entire UA Sessions and the complete London Fred Astaire sessions(both long out of print) will know the man very well.He has a solid rep in the music and entertainment biz and has even created a company that restores music and movies.This 2005 2-CD set is one of his latest projects and offers us up some highly significant and historic recordings.
Presented here are two of the greatest singers(arguably the two GREATEST)ever to grace a stage and enter a recording studio;Al Jolson and Bing Crosby.Jolson was the "greatest entertainer" and was at the dizzying heights of his early career when Bing was just a pup.No one before or since has ever performed with the bravura and energy on stage as did Jolson.He was a force unto himself and engaged his audiences from start to finish.Of course he was also a big name in the early years of recorded sound and sold millions of discs and sheet music and later, in movies.
Crosby was a third of a vocal group called the Rhythm Boys working with Paul Whiteman's famous Orchestra.From there he went solo and in his own unique way slowly but surely carved himself out a monster of a career in show business also through the recording medium and movies.Crosby had idolized Jolson as a youngster but he was no copy cat.He had a style all his own,more rooted in jazz than Jolson,and with his persona of the relaxed and cool crooner,he became a hit with millions of people.His vocal style still influences singers today.
Jolson had done the Kraft Music Hall(the source of most of these recordings)in the early 30s but Bing took it over as host steadily from /36 to /46.After Bing,Jolson took the reigns until 1949.Both men were highly successful during their respective runs at the Hall and these cuts amply demonstrate why these two men were simply the greatest at what they did.Jolsons' voice aged beautifully as time went on and the newer and better recording technology captured the deep richness of his vocal timbre that his earlier recordings had failed to get.Bings' voice also improved as the technology did and Bing also is heard to best advantage on these recordings.
The dates for these songs range from 1946 to 1950 and Ken Barnes has managed to present the material on hand in the best possible way,sonically speaking.You will here the patter and the chatter between,before and after the cuts and they enhance the listening experience as a whole.You can tell both men were relaxed,at their best and seemingly having a ball together.Jolie's phrasing and voice are in superb form and vocally he never drops the ball once.Bing,as always,was in fine form as host and as guest.Also included is a booklet with some info regarding these recordings by Barnes and the complete release and recording info.
Fans of both these men will want to get this CD set for their collections.The Kraft Music Hall performances are quite rare these days on CD and as they showcase the myriad of talent that passed in front of its' microphones like no other,in this case Jolson and Crosby,you have to get while the getting is good.These historic treasures are a definite must have.

If you want to hear Bing at his best, with some big stars, this is the CD set. Excellent sound quality, top talent, and produced as if it was a special show. Kudos to the people who worked on this and I hope they make more...

The great thing about this compilation is that in addition to the wonderful music, you get the impact of the personalities. I'm a Jolson fanatic and very much enjoyed his patter with Bing. And though I was not really a Crosby fan, I began to understand his appeal as well. The two together play off each other beautifully. And the song selection covers just about everything.

fantastic my husband loved this cd the quality was excellent for such an old recording if you love al jolson buy this cd you wont be disapointed add this one to your collection could not buy this one in australia thank you

Great Quality of recorded songs and brief chats in between songs. It really feels like you are there at the studio live when you hear the two CD's play. I recomend it to all Al Jolson and Bing Crosby fans alike!

In my opinion, Al Jolson was one of the two greatest popular singers (with Sinatra) in America in the twentieth century. Bing Crosby was very close behind them. Furthermore, Crosby may have been second to none in his duets with many of the best singers of his era.

These two discs present radio broadcasts Jolson and Crosby did together. They include a huge number of mostly terrific songs, interspersed with chit-chat, some hokey, some amusing, some touching. In the electronic age, it's easy enough to listen to the chatter once, but listen to the songs repeatedly.

Most of these songs were recorded separately by Jolson, Crosby, or both, and in most cases this album is no substitute for those separate recordings. For one thing, most of them are shortened, compared to the recordings. Nevertheless, this is a superb album. The fun these two great singers are having together is infectious. And there is plenty of great singing.

THIS CD IS MUSIC THAT ONE WOULD NOT BUY FOR A GOOD LOOK AT CROSBY. i APPRECIATE JOLSON BUT HE WAS NOT MY CUP OF TEA. WHEN HE WAS DOWN ON HIS LUCK BING REVITALIZED HIS CAREER BY LETTING HIM APPEAR ON HIS RADIO SHOW MANY TIMES EACH YEAR.HE EVEN FIXED IT SO JOLSON GOT HIS OWN RADIO SHOW , HE DID THIS BECAUSE BING LOVED JOLSON AND JOLSON WAS HIS IDOL WHEN BING WAS A BOY IN SPOKANE. BING REVITALIZED JOLSONS CAREER, PEGGY LEES CAREER, JUDY GARLANDS CAREER AND SO MANY OTHERS BECAUSE HE LOVED TALENT AND GREAT MUSIC AND WASNT AFRAID OF ANY COMPETION ON OR ANYONES SUCCESS LIKE SINATRA WAS.ANYONE WHO WOULD EVER THINK JOLSON OR LESSER SINATRA WAS BEST AND CROSBY WAS SECOND NEEDS A LOBTOMY.CROSBY SAVED THE RECORDING INDUSTRY AND HE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR SINATRA , MARTIN AND COMO AND ALL THE REST TO SUCCEED BY COPYING HIM.AND THEY ALL ADMITTED THAT.THIS ALBUM IS OK AND ONLY RATED 3 STARS.