Customer Reviews

The Columbia Years 1940-1946

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This is one of the finest collections of Kate Smith to be released in years. I have played and replayed this disc at least a dozen times so far and it loses none of its appeal. Kate Smith had that magic with a song and the magic lives on and on with this CD. The sound is exquisite and most of the songs give you the feeling that they were recorded only yesterday. No fan of Kate Smith should be without Kate Smith, The Columbia Years. The songs are all first rate and beautifully sung, but some linger in the heart, "Can't get Indiana off my mind", "Two Dreams Met", and "It all comes back to me now", among others. When I was a boy and television was new in our world, I remember the afternoon I discovered the lady with the big voice right there in a friend's living room. The mother turned off the set before Kate even had a chance to sing one song, mostly to get the kids out of her clean house, but that unforgettable voice still rings across the years. This remarkable CD is like a time machine that leads to a magical place. Bravo to the legendary Kate Smith and to the remarkable hands that brought this CD to the public.

Kate first recorded for Columbia from 1927 to 1933, but all these recordings were laid down between 1940 and 1946. She topped the American pop chart in 1931 with a lovely song titled When the moon comes over the mountain and had a minor hit around the turn of 1933-34 with Shine on harvest moon. Re-recordings of those songs are included here. Sadly, River stay `way from my door, a song that gave Kate a 1932 number one after she recorded with Guy Lombardo, is not here - perhaps Kate didn't re-record that song. The original can be found on a Guy Lombardo CD - The band plays on 25 number one hits.

Kate had several new hits in the forties, so it is the original versions of those that are on this collection. These are The last time I saw Paris, The woodpecker song (Reginella Campagnola), I'm stepping out with a memory tonight, Rose O'Day (The filla-ga-dusha song), (There'll be bluebirds over) the white cliffs of Dover, How do I know its real?, I threw a kiss in the ocean, Don't fence me in (a top ten hit despite the song having already been a monster hit for Bing Crosby and the Andrews sisters), There goes that song again, And there you are and Seems like old times.

So, all the Columbia hits of the forties and a couple of re-recordings of her earlier hits are included, but there's more - 25 tracks altogether. Such is the quality of the music, sung beautifully by Kate in her clear soprano, that you can't tell which were the hits and which weren't.

This is, perhaps, the strongest collection of Kate's music available, but it only looks at part of her career - so if you haven't got any of her music, this is a good place to start. Once you've heard it, you will surely want more, especially as the song for which she is most famous (God bless America) is not here.

The sound quality was much better than Songbird of the South. I found the selection more satisfying because I prefer the music style of this time period. This is a nice CD to put on when you want to hear something classic once every three months or so. There will never be another Kate Smith.

This album turned out to be a real treasure find for me. I knew little of Kate Smith, but this CD showcases her rich voice, an ability to add blue-eyed soul to a lot of great numbers and songs from WWII that were neither mushy, silly songs--but songs with a sense of impending potential loss and such romance! Of course the Irish "silly/tavern" songs were not to my taste, but are an interesting piece of history. Still--the music--that wonderful voice--great arrangements--this is a winner! Young little "pop" tarts you should be so lucky to ever sing this fine!