Customer Reviews

Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

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

 

 

This CD of Guy Lombardo is a precious release no matter where you may stand musically.
Lombardos' music has oft times been referred to as "square" or "corny" but this release proves that Lombardo could be as "hot" as any jazz band of the day.
In point of fact these are Lombardos' earliest releases from 1924 through to 1928 on the Gennett and Columbia labels.Many of these recordings haven't seen the light of day since their debut.
The producers are David Lennick and Toronto,Canadas' own guitar star Jeff Healey! Knowing Healey only through his wonderful blues guitar playing I wasn't aware of his extensive knowledge of such early recordings as are presented here. In fact he informs us in his extensive liner notes that he used to listen to these recordings with his father when he was younger and developed an appreciation for the music which has stayed with him ever since.
The recordings themselves come from,among other sources,the producers themselves and the National Library of Canada.
The transfer and production of these historic works are done with precision and the end product is a joy to listen to.I doubt if these cuts ever sounded so good!
I would recommend these recordings to any one interested in jazz and its' early days and especially to all the countless Lombardo fans out there.
Enjoy!

I am a big fan of the Lombardo sound. Owning more than 70 albums, I found this disc to be very interesting. It has some of their very first recordings. It is cool to hear a very different sound from Lombardo. The first tracks are almost jazz/hot. There are two cuts of Mississippi Mud that are worth the purchase price alone. As the disc goes on the Lombardo sound starts to take shape. The saxes get sweet, Carmen's singing, the drums disappear. Interesting how long it takes to calm down Lebert's trumpet playing. On some of the early sweet songs it sounds really good but a little out of place. The disc has good liner notes as well. A good disc recommended for the completest. The more casual fan may be turned off by the fact that it takes 3/4 of the disc to sound like Lombardo.