Customer Reviews

Say It With Music

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This disk contains 23 number-one hits by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra from the 1920s and early 1930s; over 70 minutes of music. A good buy for the price. All the songs are charming and the sound quality is excellent. The Living Era label is the best for vintage American music of the twenties, thirties, and forties. I have many Living Era disks and they are all excellent. Highly recommended.

When you read the reviews you need to keep in mind that there are jazz fanatics who are purists and who believe that only black orchestras/bands should be allowed to play dance and jazz music and that anything done by white groups was trash. They also have a stroke because Paul Whiteman called himself, "the king of jazz." Well, this is like dismissing all of Michael Jackson's music because he called himself, "King of pop." The fact is, Whiteman hired some of the best people in the business, was responsible for Gershwin rushing to put together a little piece called, "Rhapsody in blue," had Ferde Grofe as an arranger (he wrote "Grand Canyon Suite"), introduced Bing Crosby to the world, and recorded some of the best music of the twenties and thirties. These purists complain that Whiteman sanitized Jazz. Personally, I prefer my jazz "whitened up", with more melody and less aimless improvising. And you can't argue with numbers: Whiteman outsold all of the black jazz bands combined. As the old joke about critics out of touch with the public goes, "Sure, the audience is wild about them, but what do they know?" Whiteman was wildly popular and with good reason. This is a great album and Whiteman is an important part of our musical history.

This is not a review, it is a reply to Stuart's moronic post of April 5, 2004. Sure, there's been 80 years of evolution in American pop music, the last 50 of which are CRAP! Stuart, in honor of your ignorance, arrogance, lack of perspective, disinterest in American musical history, rejection of anything that doesn't include distorted guitars, and lack of intellectual curiosity, I will buy this album. Listen and learn with your stupid mouth shut, fool. Here's something else people knew 80 years ago: children are better seen than heard, or in your case, read.

This marvelous CD presents bandleader Paul Whiteman's number-one hits from 1920-1933, and to say that there are gems scattered liberally throughout is the understatement of the new century. The earliest arrangements (typically by Ferde Grofe) are the most charming--antique in style but with an ageless sophistication that sets them apart from most other popular recordings of their time. I would single out "The Japanese Sandman," "Hot Lips" (with its great "hot" solo by the usually square Henry Busse), "Linger Awhile," and the wildly imaginative Grofe arrangemnt of "Birth of the Blues," dressed up with musical quotes from "Rhapsody in Blue." But these are merely personal preferences--all of the sides are worth hearing over and over. I've been lucky enough to own most of these titles on 78, and the sound--while not state of the art--sure beats listening to the originals. As the cliche goes, this is the one Paul Whiteman CD to own. A delight!!

Who in their goddamn mind would seriously listen to PAUL WHITEMAN!

PAUL WHITEMAN!

We have the benefit of 80 years worth of hindsight and major social reformations have taken place since then. Know that he is WRONG!

Do you still need your music sanitized for you?