Moonlight Bay: Songs As Is and Songs As Was

Oley Speaks (Composer), Percy Wenrich (Composer), Joe / Emerson, Ida Howard (Composer), James / Paley, Herman Kendis (Composer), Gus Edwards (Composer), James Reese Europe (Composer), Raymond Hubbell (Composer), J. Rosamond Johnson (Composer), Henry W. Petrie (Composer), W.C. Handy (Composer), George M. Cohan (Composer), Jaan / Kellette, John Kenbrovin (Composer), Caro Roma (Composer), Victor Herbert (Composer), A. Baldwin Sloane (Composer), Fred Gilbert (Composer), Silvio Hein (Composer), Harry Dacre (Composer), Carrie Jacobs Bond (Composer), Michael Nolan (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Oley Speaks, Percy Wenrich, Joe / Emerson, Ida Howard, James / Paley, Herman Kendis, Gus Edwards, et al.
• Audio CD (February 9, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Albany Records
• ASIN: B00000HXME
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,025 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Joan Morris and William Bolcom return to their roots, March 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Moonlight Bay: Songs As Is and Songs As Was (Audio CD)

Back in 1974, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, and her husband, William Bolcom, recorded "After the Ball," a collection of turn-of-the-century popular songs, some of which hadn't been recorded since the early part of the century, if ever. Now, after bringing their talents to the music of Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hart, and most recently, Vincent Youmans, they return to the turn of the century with this delightful collection. Note: no compromises were made with the original turn-of-the-century lyrics; this CD is not for those obsessed with "political correctness." But then, those obsessed with political correctness generally don't have much taste, anyway.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great addition, August 19, 2005

By 

John A. Jones (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moonlight Bay: Songs As Is and Songs As Was (Audio CD)

Joan Morris and her husband, composer William Bolcom, take another trip back to the early days of Broadway musicals and earlier. In the same groove as their earlier albums, After the Ball and Vaudeville. A great addition to your collection if you love this kind of music, performed the way it was meant to be heard.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Turn Back the Calendar: Charming Stage & Parlor Songs, May 8, 2009

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moonlight Bay: Songs As Is and Songs As Was (Audio CD)

Mezzo-soprano Joan Morris and pianist William Bolcom have made a specialty of "period" songs. The 1974 Grammy-nominated AFTER THE BALL may well be their best known recording, but my own preference is for the 1999 MOONLIGHT BAY, SONGS AS IS AND SONGS AS WAS. While I continue to find Morris' voice a bit overstudied, it has a freer quality on this particular release, and I find the selections somewhat more pleasing.

The earliest selection is from 1881, and the time span ends at 1919 with several selections. Many of the songs are drawn from popular musical plays of the period--George M. Cohan is well-represented--and more than a few were famous on the Vaudeville circuit; all, however, were extremely popular in the front parlor, where parties of the day frequently drew expert pianists and singers to the piano. Particularly popular were a type of song commonly called "coon songs"--songs which were performed in the African-American dialect of the time, with "Hello, Ma Baby" a classic of its kind. While such songs are considered well beyond the pale by modern standards, Morris and her pianist husband William Bolcom perform them with such expertese that is possible to hear them with innocent ears and appreciate (if not actually approve) their charm.

I must confess a great personal dislike of the song "The Road to Mandalay," an overly-dramatic piece drawn from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, but this aside I find a host of almost forgotten yet still familar tunes, ranging from such tavern favorites as "Heaven Will Protect The Working Girl" and "My Gal Sal" to the elegant "Poor Butterfly" and the nostalgic "Little Annie Rooney" and "School Days." I must confess my own favorite is the 1892 "Daisy Bell," which is better known as "A Bicycle Built for Two." But regardless of the title, each piece is beautifully performed.

The combination of a single voice and single piano, particularly when both are so formal in nature and when each selection is stylistically similar--well, it becomes somewhat wearing when heard at length. Charming as the recording is, it is perhaps best heard in small doses. Even so, recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer