Customer Reviews

The Carnegie Hall Concert

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Many of the Glenn Miller band's hits which are so well known today had been recorded only weeks before this concert on Oct. 6, 1939. The band performed last on a program which included the Goodman band, and it sounds as though the best was saved for last. Opening and closing the set with "Moonlight Serenade," the band played their hits "In the Mood" and "Little Brown Jug," among 11 other great tunes. Ray (not Bob) Eberle sang two songs; Betty Hutton's sister, Marion, sang three songs sounding as though she'd never had so much fun. And Mo Purtill played a wildly enthusiastic drum solo on "Bugle Call Rag." "Pennsylvania 6-5000" and "American Patrol" had been recorded by this time, but were not performed. But that's a minor disappointment. Another minor disappointment is that the audience applause and response is deleted in some places, which takes away some of the excitement of the event. But it's a fun recording to listen to again and again, and the sound quality is pretty good.

A good rendition of Miller standards in a live concert that really expressed his popularity at the time. The audience was very appreciative of the music and applauded enthusiastically, as they do now. I especially enjoyed Marion Hutton's songs. I could feel and imagine how cute she must have been and the youthful innocence in her voice. She certainly sounded lively, bouncy and full of energy on stage with the band and Glenn in front of a live audience "and" in Carnegie Hall. What an honor that must have been for Marion, Tex, Glenn and the whole band. If you like Glenn Miller, you'll like this CD. I was surprised at the clarity of the recording due to the mikes being right on stage and in Carnegie Hall. Only thing it lacked was the really good acoustics in the hall itself, which 30's technology could only go so far in reproducing.