Chattanooga Choo Choo: The #1 Hits

Glenn Miller | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 27, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002W4A
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,863 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Wishing (Will Make It So)

2. Stairway to the Stars

3. Moon Love

4. Over the Rainbow

5. The Man with the Mandolin

6. Orchids, Blue

7. In the Mood

8. Careless

9. Tuxedo Junction

10. When You Wish Upon a Star

11. The Woodpecker Song

12. Imagination

13. Fools Rush In

14. Blueberry Hill

15. Song of the Volga Boatmen

16. You and I

17. Chattanooga Choo Choo

18. Elmer's Tune

19. A String of Pearls

20. Moonlight Cocktail

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With its unique sound and ebullient swing, the Glenn Miller Orchestra rapidly became the most popular band of its day. That sheer popularity is celebrated here in the remarkable string of No. 1 hits that the band recorded for RCA Victor from 1939 until 1942, when Miller decided to break up the band and enter the armed forces. Emphasizing sweet over swing, Miller created a unique, liquid reed sound by voicing a clarinet over the saxophones, often contrasting that effect with muted brass. Even a powerhouse swing tune like Erskine Hawkins's "Tuxedo Junction" took on softer hues in the Miller treatment, while the Modernaires vocal group added another trademark sound to such infectious songs as "Chattanooga Choo Choo." Miller's keen sense of public taste is apparent, from novelty tunes to superior ballads to his signature, "In the Mood." For anyone seeking a single-CD introduction to the Miller band, this collection has excellent sound and offers a window on the era. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Compromised Sound, Good Collection, June 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Chattanooga Choo Choo: The #1 Hits (Audio CD)

This is a good collection of Miller's music, but the sound is compromised. I own actual 78's of this material, and the cd sounds harsh and compressed compared to to originals. Old 78's have a better frequency range than most people realize, and Miller's music needs to be remastered with newer restoration tools in order to best preserve the sound.

...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent sound, some hits missing, July 23, 2005

By 

B.C.M. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chattanooga Choo Choo: The #1 Hits (Audio CD)

This is a great CD, don't get me wrong, but if you are looking for the *one* disc that best covers Glenn Miller's famous charts and signature sound, you might want to keep looking. At 23 tracks, it definitely delivers on quantity but the quality of the sound is only mediocre. Not a lot has been done to "clean up" the original masters (which actually might be a positive to many purists) and the sound is a bit distant and bright. There are also some notable exceptions, particularly "Moonlight Serenade," "Pensylvania 6-5000" and "Little Brown Jug." Of course, the movie soundtrack covers those tunes and is in stereo, though the sound is not as authentic as these recordings.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ghastly "Remastering," Avoid, December 3, 2007

By 

Thomas Bumbera (Maplewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chattanooga Choo Choo: The #1 Hits (Audio CD)

RCA/BMG's engineers apparently took fifth-generation tapes of these hits (two stars for the music alone) and then did a putrid job of remastering them. A good vinyl reissue from the 1950s would produce richer, fuller sound than this catastrophe. There are many Miller compilations produced after about 1997, when they finally learned how to remaster from 78 rpm. Seek them out.