Customer Reviews

Dr Buzzard'S Original Savannah Band

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is simply one of the finest albums of the 70's! I first heard it as an 8th grader in 1976 and remarkably, the music doesn't just hold up...but it actually seems to have gotten better since then. The bold mixture of styles (Swing Jazz, Disco, Latin, R&B) makes it an anomaly in popular music history...namely, a great achievement that absolutely could not be duplicated by others. As if the crisp, sweet arrangements, (remember those?) and hellified singing by one Miss Cory Daye were not enough, the hidden gem on this album is the witty and super-literate lyrics. August Darnell's wordplay on this album summons images of an uptown-ed Cole Porter, solidly bopping his way to the 2 and 4 without EVER risking his top hat's falling off. Cut for cut, this is one of the 70's great records. You won't skip a single selection. Great for driving, for getting dressed for a party, the party itself, walking down the street or cleaning the house on a Saturday afternoon as the dust fills random shafts of sunlight. And in a special note to all the new-jacks out there who are checking out the nuevo-swing scene: dig on this platter of wax from our bicentennial year of 76' and learn how this music can be done while sounding fresh and original! P.S. You'll note in an earlier review, someone mentions the two other great discs by this bunch. There's also a greatest hits album and a great lost album by Darnell called "Gichy Dan's Beechwood #9". It has the same flavor, but is notable as a transitional step to his assumption of the "Kid Creole" persona. It features the wonderful club semi-hit "Laissez Faire". If you see this album in a bin on vinyl, you'd better get it then and there! That's the only way TO get it, unfortunately!

Big-band disco, this is, although not as campy (or as bad) as that implies. In fact, this is the most listenable disco album I've heard this side of Chic. Their Cole Porter-inspired seductive sophistication is hard-won, and let me tell you, I've been seduced, listening to the damn thing at least once a week since I found it at a used record bin in Nashville for $[...] a year ago. Sluts and saints are celebrated, but the real heroes are the urban working class characters who find the courage to keep on dancing despite the hard times. Cory Daye is the most underrated singer to come out of the disco milieu: her vocals skirt the perils of diva hyper expressiveness with teasing, irony, wit and intelligence. The beats and arrangements are playful and fun, flirting with `40s nostalgia without wallowing in it. Principal writers (and musicians) Stony Browder and August Darnell (not to mention producer Sandy Linzer) keep it moving throughout; they allow only one arch vocal moment about mid-way through side 2, but have the good sense to pair it with their most attractive melody. And they close the album with a vibe-accented mover that keeps you believing there's always room to dance and to love no matter how close to the precipice you venture. There's lemon in the honey, all right.

I was a kid when this album came out and I loved it then and love it now. I have done everything to this cd in regards to using it for road trips and cleaning the house, all the while singing with my hairbrush near by as my microphone. It is one of the most positive vibes/music I have heard; happy, joyous feel-good music that gets better and better each time I play it.

I was in a record store today in New York City during the lunch hour holiday rush. They were playing this album and it sounded just as good today as it sounded the first time I heard it (and bought it) 20+ years ago! This album is still original and fresh and precedes the recent big band era resurgence by 2 decades! If you like retro music, smooth orchestration and original lyrics, treat yourself to this cd.

I remember playing my mother's vinyl record as a child and simply falling in love with every song. Then when cassettes became popular, I recorded the album to cassette. Now I've purchased it on CD. Last night I played the CD in my car as I drove home from work. I was singing and smiling the entire way home. The songs on Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band make my heart and soul giddy. I can honestly say this is one of my favorite albums of all times.

I chime in with others in their review of this album. Outstanding writing, singing and performing. "Cherchez La Femme/Se si Bon" is the song. Five stars!

I hadn't even been born when this album was released (I'm 23), but I heard this for the first time when my roommate played it for me in high school. I liked it so much that I rooted through my parents' album collection and sure enough, they had this record. Their music makes me so happy when I listen to it, and the jazzy upbeat sound is unlike anything I've heard. I'm glad Amazon.com had this on CD -- I can't imagine anyone would willingly give their copy away to a music store!

What can I say? Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band is da bomb! I first heard "Cherchez La Famme/Se Si Bon" back in 1976 when I was 13 years old. And it sounds even better now then it did back then! Ricki Martin could learn a lot from this group! And Ms Daye, WHAT A VOICE! This group is joy to listen to. Though the sound is a "throw back" to the swinging days of the '20's and '30's, the band adds soul, disco and latino flavor into the mix. This music makes you wish you were apart of the swing era! That continuous "foot pedal" along with the harmonious horns and string sections makes me feels as though I am actually living this music! I would trade a thousand Celine Dions, Whitney Houstons and Mariah Careys for one Cory Daye. This is what music nowadays is missing, melody. I'm only in my mid 30's but I do miss the days when someone could play an instrument and be categorized as a "musician" not a "programmer." What's up with today's R&B? To many producers got that "Computer Programing Love" ! HA HA

Much love to Cory Daye, Stoney Browder and August Darnell for taking on a challenge and conquering it regardless of what radio thought was acceptable!

This album defines the 70's dance scene. And yet it transcends repetitive, one-hit wonder disco. It is the quintescential album of a generation. My generation. It is the one album that holds up play, after play after play...all these years later!

Outstanding!

Cory Daye has such a gorgeous and pleasing voice as she hips and hops through the music..."Sunshower" is incredible and sounds like it was made yesterday, not 30 years ago, those kids singing make that song perfect,
"Cherchez Le Femme" is nothing less than stellar...Their music is almost dramatically Broadway-ish sounding and very uplifting as well...