Customer Reviews

Complete Early Recordings

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When I ordered this product I was uncertain as to what it would be like as there was very little of a description to it.Well if you were like me then wonder no more.
This is a Japanese import and it includes all of Glenn Millers' recorded works(24)he did independantly and with his first band that failed to make it,from /35-early/38.I have most but not all of these recordings from various sources so I found it great to have them complete and all in one place.As a bonus there are also two tracks Glenn recorded with The Mound City Blue Blowers back in 1929,"One Hour" and "Helo Lola" which Glenn himself highly regarded.
This period was certainly a Glenn Miller in transition and trying to make a name for himself outside of his arranging prowess and sideman gigs of the mid to late 30s.There are some wonderful tunes here and many of them feature some of the top jazz men of the day like Bunny Berigan,Charlie Spivak,Ray Bauduc,Pee Wee Erwin,Irving Fazola,Hal McIntyre and so on.Such was Glenns' "in" in the jazz community of the the day.Singer Kathleen Lane is featured on some of these songs and her vocals complemented them beautifully.
There are some drawbacks to this release I must mention however.The first one I noticed right away was the liner notes.Being the import it is,it is typed in Japanese and English.However the translation into English is less than adequate at times and you find yourself scratching your head at what the writer is trying to tell you.Also the discography is incomplete,unusual for a Japanese import.They are usually quite fastidious when it comes to details but the personnel on many of the tunes are decidedly incomplete;just two glaring examples being clarinetist Irving Fazola and singer Kathleen Lane,noticably absent from their respective sides.
The second drawback and one I found a major distraction on some tunes is the noise reduction process.There is a disclaimer in this set which tells you that the minimum of noise reduction was used,to preserve the "vitality and warmth" of the music.That's fine generally speaking.My preferences are to use NR more when it needs it and less when it doesn't.And there are some songs here(depending on the source discs used) that certainly could have used more,as the background hiss is,as I said,quite distracting.However purists would argue that this is the way they SHOULD be presented,hiss and all,as to preserve the original aural intent of the musicians.I just present you the facts and let you decide.
In conclusion this set is a great one for all Glenn Miller fans,especially the compleatists.All 24 songs as an independant and with the first band that failed are here.Also the two songs he did with the Mound City Blue Blowers are included as a bonus.
The drawbacks here are the faulty liner notes and more importantly the minimalistic use of noise reduction.To some,like myself,it can be a distraction but to others it will be a welcome change.Whatever side of the fence you fall on,this CD still gives you all of Glenns' songs of this period in one,easy to reference place.