Customer Reviews

Comedian Harmonists: Greatest Hits 1

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Somehow, although I didn't live during the time of these recordings or the wide popularity of the Comedian Harmonists and others of its kind, this group's music ignites in me a deep sense of nostalgia and historical passion, as it were, that few other recordings can match. This is a surprisingly good refurbishing of the original recordings of the 1930s, and most of the Comedian Harmonists' best songs are included. Many of the songs are sentimental, others are lively and funny, others are serious; but all are deeply nostalgic. This group folded in the late thirties because of the rise of the Nazis in Germany, but their legacy remains to be one of the most important in the annals of popular and folk music history.

If, inexplicably, one is limited to one Comedian Harmonists' CD, this is probably the one to get. It combines better than other CDs the best, the best known, and the most representative sampling of their work. Its only drawback -- and some might not consider it so much a drawback but as an example of how broadly representative this sampling is -- is that it includes a few selections from the two sextets formed after the Nazis forced the separation of the three Aryan from the three Jewish members, and neither group was anywhere near as good as the original.

A wonderful musical trip in time. See the movie "Comedian Harmonists" for an interesting background. If you like American standards of the 30's and 40's, you'll love this different flavor.

Very Good! That CD for Mom. She like the CD.