Customer Reviews

New York, New York: A Vintage Portrait

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Many of the songs on this recording are not available in sheet music, and although the sound quality isn't "leading edge" it makes me feel as though I am listening to actual performers back in the 30's & 40's, with young and gifted singers like Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, and Mel Torme, as well as others who are nameless or unknown to me on this album, and a delight to listen to. Manhattan Tower is why I bought this CD, and I got so much more from it than I bargained for. The illusion I have when I play it is that I am a young jazz artist in New York, feeling the pulse of the city and filling up with everything about being a part of New York.

The delightful narration of Gordon Jenkins' "Manhattan Tower" lasts but 16 minutes, but is worth the price of the disc; the balance of the disc is made up of fillers, each of which has something to do with New York. These include well-known pieces such as Lullaby of Broadway, Give My Regards to Broadway, and Forty Second Street. Artists include Bernstein, Cohan, Paul Whiteman, Jo Stafford, Guy Lombardo, and Frank Sinatra. The disc runs 75 minutes, and is Mono.

I bought this CD for the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue soundtrack ballet by Richard Rodgers and Lennie Hayton. But none of the tracks on this CD can be appreciated. It is a mono recording, and that immediately leaves you with a very incomplete sound. No amount of treble and bass adjustment can eliminate the awful tinny sound throughout the disc.