Customer Reviews

Chesterfield Broadcasts

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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Another 5-star effort from BMG's reissue team of Paul Brizzi (CEDAR restoration), Jay Newland (digital mastering), and John Snyder (production). If you've already purchased "The Chesterfield Broadcasts, Vol. 1" by the same crew, by all means get the new 2-disc complete effort. If this is your first encounter with the on-air pairing of Glenn Miller's great orchestra and the Andrews Sisters, then you're in for a treat.

To back-track for those who are new to this material, a quick bit of history. The Glenn Miller band, fresh off of its triumphs at the Glen Island Casino and Meadowbrook ballrooms--dance meccas and live-broadcasting plums for any up-and-coming bandleader in the late 30s--was picked in the Fall of 1939 to replace Paul Whiteman's orchestra as Liggett & Myers choice to headline their Chesterfield cigarettes-sponsored radio serial. Miller had already scored several hit Bluebird/Victor singles during 1939, and was rising steadily in the popularity polls. Nevertheless, it was deemed prudent by the sponsor to team the Miller band with the hugely popular Andrews Sisters, America's leading girl-group sensation. "The Girls" had several seasons of Decca hits under their belt, and it was reasoned that the one-two punch of the Miller Band with the Andrews Sisters just couldn't miss. These broadcast recordings, made between late December, 1939, and late March, 1940, document their shared run over the CBS network. By mid-March, it was deemed that the Andrews Sisters contract would not be renewed due to personal problems in the Sisters' family which made them increasing hard to handle, as well as the obvious fact that Miller was quite able to carry the weight of the program.

The discs themselves are programmed to simulate a continuous broadcast experience, with applause and announcements tightly segued together between tunes taken from separate shows. Announcers Ed Herlihy (later of Kraft Cheese fame), and Paul Douglas (later a B-movie "heavy" in the late 40s/ early 50s) handled the speaking chores, along with Miller. The material runs the gamut, everything from Miller's recent instrumental hits of the past several months, plus outings with current pop tunes handled by band stars Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, and Tex Beneke, as well as the most complete assemblage of Andrews Sisters performances that could be successfully drawn from the period covered. Thus, you get a pretty good snapshot of what the casual listener would have heard every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night from 10-10:15 pm on CBS. Hits like "In the Mood," "Little Brown Jug," and "Tuxedo Junction" alternate with fun novelty numbers done in the classic Andrews Sisters style, including many of their hits from their past few seasons like "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen." Included is the very rare solo performance of Patti Andrews singing "I Love You Much Too Much," occasioned by a family brawl in the Andrews' hotel suite involving their parents, Maxine's beau Lou Levy of Decca Records, and Patti's companion Vic Schoen, arranger for the Sisters and erstwhile bandleader for their records. When it came time for the broadcast that evening, only Patti made it to the radio studio.

Comments given regarding the sound of the broadcast recordings for the "Volume 1" compilation hold true with the 2-disc set being offered here. A word of warning for those offended by occasional surface noise: it's not eliminated here via excessive filtering. As before, the safety tapes made by RCA in the early 60s of all the Miller estate's broadcast material are the source for the tunes presented. Quality varies, depending on the condition of the original 78 rpm recording disc, many of which were of the fragile glass-cored/ acetate-covered variety. Some performances are astonishingly clear and balanced, while others still display significant surface scratch or amplifier hum. It's a mixed bag in that respect, but it's worth noting that noise-reduction and equalization are never used heavy-handedly. Hats off to those engineers who understand that noise and music signal can be occasionally inseparable. No attempt was made to lop off the entire upper range and bass end to eliminate scratch/hiss and rumble. These were reference recordings made at Miller's request for later reviewing by himself and others, made by a dubbing service in New York that utlized direct-line feeds from the networks. We're lucky that RCA taped what they had when they did, as deterioration could not be arrested.

Presentation and liner notes are models of their kind. All relevant personnel listings, broadcast dates, and production notes are given. Also included is an extended reminiscence by Chummy MacGregor, the band's pianist. Listeners and collectors who want to supplement the information contained would do well to seek out a copy of John Flower's "Moonlight Serenade," his exhaustive bio-discography of the Miller band from beginning to end, including all known broadcasts and recordings. It's long out of print, but can be obtained used.

Now, if only some kind person at BMG would take note: there's a ready audience for any quality packaging of Miller material. BMG is sitting on a veritable treasure trove of network and sustaining broadcast recordings made by the band, many of which haven't been reissued since the 1950s. As evidenced by the collection reviewed above, the tape masters of that material seem eminently serviceable. 2004 is Glenn Miller's centennial year....need I say more? Get off your duffs, folks, and "do right" by one of your biggest guns! Until that time, though, we listeners and collectors will dutifully snatch up what's seen fit to release.

These two CDs purport to "re-create" the feeling of Glenn Miller's initial Chesterfield broadcasts from early 1940, however, the focus is on the "big name" talent that was added to the broadcasts to ensure their success -- the singing of the Andrews Sisters. So, if you are a Glenn Miller fan looking for that famous Miller sound, you'll find much more of that on other CDs of Miller collections. No, this set of CDs is for two groups of people -- first, hard core Glenn Miller fans like myself who want to own almost every single thing available recorded by Miller's civilian band, and second, fans of the Andrews Sisters, who will love this collection, since the trio really are the "stars" of this show.

That's not to say Miller fans will be slighted by this collection -- they get to enjoy versions of "Tuxedo Junction", "Farewell Blues" "Runnin' Wild" and "Little Brown Jug" with solos that vary from the ones you will be familiar with from the Bluebird recordings made by the band. Plus, other numbers not featuring the Andrews Sisters have been added to "re-create" the Chesterfield Broadcast atmosphere, such as Ray Eberle singing "Indian Summer", or the Marion Hutton/Tex Beneke duet of "The Rumba Jump" -- both nearly identical to the Bluebird recordings put out by the band. Interestingly, one odd defect in this attempt to recreate the Chesterfield atmosphere was the omission of any "Old, New, Borrowed and Blue" medleys -- how can you have a Chesterfield broadcast without one of those?

But, that is a minor quibble, especially if the real reason you bought this CD, as I did, was to find out what happens when two huge talents link up. And that is what this collection is really all about.

And, it turns out, the results are spectacular, even if the Miller sound gets eclipsed by the cheerful style of the terriffic Andrews Sisters. The liner notes credit only the vocal arrangements for the Sisters to Vic Schoen, but I didn't hear much of the hand of Glenn Miller or Bill Finnegan in the numbers featuring Patti, Maxine, and LaVerne -- EXCEPT for Patti's solo on "I Love You Very Much", which resulted from the refusal of her sisters to turn up for a broadcast after a family rumpus the previous night that landed their father in jail! The liner notes give you pretty fun information about such goings-on "behind the scenes." Apparently the fallout from the family fight (and the sisters not speaking to one another for a while!) resulted in the ad agency sponsoring these broadcasts refusing to renew their contract after the initial 13 weeks, thus letting Miller's Band get the full limelight in future broadcasts.

What I loved about these selections was the chance to hear Miller's band and the Andrews Sisters together on lesser known numbers that likely aren't available elsewhere on record by these two huge talents, such as a cover of the song "The Little Red Fox", made famous by Kay Kyser's band in their 1939 movie "That's Right, You're Wrong." If you are a Kyser fan, as I am, you'll be disappointed that the Andrews Sisters version leaves out most of the original song lyrics beyond "Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, you can't catch me!", but then Kay Kyser novelties simply can't be expected to survive the translation into the swing idiom of the Andrews Sisters and the Miller Band.

Beyond the more familiar numbers that the Andrews Sisters are famous for, such as "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen", "Beer Barrel Polka" or "Hold Tight", the collection includes great vocal harmonies on numbers like "The Donkey Serenade", "(Down By The) O-H-I-O (O-My-O!)", "Run, Rabbit, Run" and "I've Got No Strings" from the movie "Pinocchio". Also, it was fun to hear the sisters try to launch a follow-on hit to "Beer Barrel Polka" in the form of "Let's Have Another One", which, though similar in spirit and bonhomie, seems to have been long forgotten.

All told, this compilation is like a time machine taking you back to the first three months of 1940 -- so many of the popular hits of that time are included here. Plus, it is a chance to savor some great talent working together to make a scary time a little happier through songs and good cheer. The depression may have been hanging on in its tenth year, work was hard to find, and war had already broken out in Europe, but on the radio or at New York's Paramount Theater, in February, 1940, you could forget about all that for a few minutes and tap your feet to the infectious harmonies and driving swing rhythms of the Andrews Sisters and Glenn Miller's fantastic band. Makes me kinda envious of those folks back in 1940, but the CDs in this collection are the best you can do today to experience what that moment in time was actually like.

This was a moment in time when the paths of the Andrews Sisters and the great civilian band of Glenn Miller crossed on the Chesterfield music broadcasts and the results are magic. The dixieland arrangements of Vic Schoen were usually the best for the Sisters on the Decca studio recordings. However, on occasion, they could limit the energy and big band bravado that blast out from this recording. There is no limit on tempo, flair or verve as the Sisters cut loose in the swinging hands of the Miller ensemble. There is an element of disappointment to this collection. The first CD is a reissue and the second CD is from acetate records that have some scratch sound. But it doesn't matter much: It is simply great that this material exists and is available to the public. Best of the Andrews Sisters

There are 448 references to Mr Miller and 89 to the Andrews Sisters on Amazon so why is this double CD worth acquiring? One, it has cherry picked 36 fifteen minute broadcasts; Two, it has been given careful audio restoration; Three, the performances have an excitement and immediacy featuring a range of performances from old favourites like Bei Mir Bist Du Schon to rarities like The Little Red Fox, as well Mr Miller stretches his band out on the likes of Runnin' Wild. Four, the accompanying notes and photos are worthy of the reissue.

To listen to this marvelous CD is to journey back to late 1939 early 1940. It was the time before US entry into World War II. Radio was king. Cigarette companies sponsored shows. Music was live and it was swing.

Glenn Miller is in his prime in these recordings and the Andrews Sisters are just hitting their peak. Together they are fantastic and one wishes there were more recordings of them together.

From the opening song, "Oh Johnny, Oh" through "Hold Tight -- Hold Tight" and "I Want My Mama" and concluding with "Farewell Blues," these are truly classics, 35 of them (with intros, conclusions and ads for Chesterfields mixed in).

The sound quality is superb and the enclosed booklet with liner notes includes vintage photos. Indeed this compilation's strongest selling point in how creates a bygone era. The recordings are so good that one feels transported back in time. You'll feel as if your sitting in front of the big family radio, enjoying the show, perhaps while scanning the newspaper and reading about the war in Europe.

A strongly recommended purchase for Miller fans, Andrews Sisters fans and all swing fans.

Born in 1940, I was singing Andrews Sisters songs before I could talk. I called myself "Jim Andrews," thinking of myself as the Andrews brother (Maxene Andrews knew the story and was amused) and made my mother write away for a signed photo of the Sisters, which I got and still have. The girls' amazing close harmony and blending came not just from the fact these were the voices of sisters but the fact they devoted years and years from childhood on to perfecting their style. They were ready when stardom came calling. All the routines you hear on these broadcasts were worked out by the Sisters themselves working with arranger Vic Schoen, who was regarded as a family member. The girls drove Glenn Miller nuts because they insisted all performances stick to the Decca Records arrangements; nothing could be cut or altered. That's because the intricate voicings had taken forever to work out and would have taken forever to rework out. Still, some of these performances don't exactly stick to the Decca arrangements and the Miller band plays circles around the studio aggregations accompanying the Andrews on the records. One more note: Schoen almost never arranged the Sisters against musical backgrounds. The instruments come in mostly between vocal lines as punctuation. The sound basically was Dixieland. It worked on hundreds of records. Then along came Gordon Jenkins. But that' s another story.