Customer Reviews

With the Paul Whiteman Orchestra

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

 

 

Bix knew as much about the self-destuction of talent as Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison ever would. Here Whiteman, as he would a few other times, harbors a great jazz talent to spice up his band and keep a national traesure from starving to death. Bix gets his chances to kick butt with an explosive and awesome sound; some outstanding solo work here, and at moments you can hear him pull the whole band along behind him, like a Porsche pulling a couple of dachshunds. This is among his last great recordings.

Then there's Bing. If there hadn't been a Crosby, there never would have been a Sinatra. While others pursued the standard Incredibly Stiff White Guy style that predominated in the twenties, Bing was apprenticing with jazz players. He made it okay to relax, use a little jazz style, and to use a baritone voice instead of the usual Too Much Starch In MY Shorts tenor that was favored. Here you can hear him start to step out of the traditional box and start to assert the style that would completely change the face of male pop singers.

This is a great recording, a nice set of tunes, and an important chapter in American pop music history. I wore out my old vinyl version of this. Highly recommended.

Bing Crosby albums showcasing his 1920's singing are brilliant and fun to listen to. Though his voice matured and became more resonant in the 30's, these early cuts with Bix are pure magic. Bing had fun and took great license with the melody and lyrics and engaged in some engaging scat singing, which he eschewed later on in his career. As the Gary Giddins' biography showed, Crosby was highly influenced by the incomparable Louis Armstrong and Satchmo's style can be heard in these seminal recordings.

I owned this record for years on vinyl and the CD version has a crisper sound and greater clarity. Pay particular attention to "My Pet," one of Bing's great early gems as a member of the Rhythm Boys, and "Lovable," which gives a hint to the great voice developing.

When you like old style jazz, and especially Paul Whitemans period ('20s and early '30s) this CD is an example of the best orchestra in its time with the best singer Bing Crosby. The cornetplayer Bix is the best in this kind of music. Really this cd is top, the best, when you like this kind of music.

This album has been around for some time. I first got it on tape and then the CD version was later released. It is a professional and lively collection. It is still one of the best collections of early Crosby.

Bix Beiderbecke, the cornetist, and Bing Crosby met early on in Bing's career when they both performed with The Paul Whiteman Orchestra, This CD gives us a generous twenty tracks of some of their greatest work together with the orchestra; and fans of classic jazz should take notice!

"Changes" begins with a beautiful musical flourish; the arrangement makes great use of the horns and strings. When Bing and the boys come in this number takes flight! "Changes" is a beautiful early jazz number that also lets Bing have a great solo. Listen for Bix Beiderbecke to come in right after Bing sings his verse. "Sunshine" gives us another early jazz number; there is some surface noise but the music is beautiful. The horns and strings again carry the bulk of the melody; and Bing sings this number with panache and sensitivity. The male chorus bolsters "Sunshine" even further--great!

"High Water" features Bing's vocals and Bix's music even more; I like the percussion for "High Water" as well. "My Pet" sports a classic jazz beat to it that really shows style; listen for Bix's horn playing and Bing sings this perfectly as well. The male backup chorus enhances the beauty of "My Pet." "You Took Advantage Of Me" has a strong upbeat melody that belies the sadness of the lyrics; Bix Beiderbecke plays tremendously well and Bing sings "You Took Advantage Of Me" without a superfluous note! Great! "'Taint So, Honey, 'Taint So" features Bing's vocals squarely in the spotlight as the band plays to perfection. Bix's horn playing enhances the number greatly.

"Because My Baby Don't Mean 'Maybe' Now" gives us yet another jazzy number with a great beat; and "Your Mother And Mine" features Bix's playing. When Bing comes with the rest of the boys, "Your Mother And Mine" truly takes flight! Terrific!

Unfortunately, there is considerable surface noise on several of these tracks. I will take off one star for that to make this a four star review. The digital remastering is either poor or practically nonexistent.

The liner notes provide an extensive, informative essay by Geoff Milne and we get the song credits on the reverse of the liner notes. The artwork impresses me as well.

This great CD provides us with a great look at Bing Crosby's sublime accomplishments early on in his career; and the cornetist artistry of Bix Beiderbecke greatly enhances the fine work of The Paul Whiteman Orchestra. I highly recommend this CD for fans of these fine artists; and people who appreciate early jazz will cherish this CD for years to come.

Enjoy!

i bought this cd because i have heard it before,but it was stolen from me,but what the couldn"t steal were the melodies,so i bought it again.Like an aficionado would know,it is not jazz ,but to me it so lovely as the music of Ellington or the tram-bix dates, i am not a fanatic of jazz only, i am a fanatic of music,so Paul Whiteman with Bix"n"Bing is heaven to me.

Bing Crosby is probably the most underrated jazz singer(with the acception of Doris Day) who really was singing jazz while stiff singers like Irving Kaufman and John McCormick were as stiff as a rod. Crosby(who was highly influenced by Louis Armstrong's singing at the time) and Bix(who was also influenced by Armstrong's playing, but never imitated him) are featured here of course with Paul Whiteman's somewhat dated band, while Whiteman's outfit was playing dated uhm-pa-pa's Bing and Bix we're jazzing it up, which Whiteman didn't like at all, however Bing & Bix did add a lot of jazz content to Whiteman's outfit. This CD is mainly recomended to fans of Bix and Bing.

Nice CD, great sound quality. Came damaged and when I got it but I had it fixed. Good price for such an old CD.

These are interesting early Bing recordings, but Bix is virtually nowhere to be heard except lost in the horn section of the Paul Whiteman band. A flagrantly misleadingly named album.