Customer Reviews

Songs of the Depression: Boom, Bust & The New Deal

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This set provides songs about the depression and they are arranged in chronological order. All the well-know songs are here but not always in the best-known versions. This is actually a wise choice. I suspect the producer assumed that the average purchaser already had versions of many of these songs and deliberately chose some alternative recordings. Some of these alternatives are good and some are not. I found it curious that the producer was critical of some of his own choices. One wonders why he would criticize his own selection rather than choose a better one. The book that accompanies the discs provides a discography for each song and a short essay that places it in the context of the depression. The essays are breezy and lack depth. There are a few howlers in the comments, but for the most part they are enjoyable. The mastering on some of the selections is questionable, but overall the job has been done well. Surface noise is sometimes high but my ears tell me that it was left so that the sound of the original recording would not be obscured. This is a terrific set albeit a bit pricey.

If you're even considering this superb box set, you probably don't have to be sold on the idea of owning four cds worth of pop from the 1930s. As you can see from the track list, these songs range from million sellers like Bing Crosby's reading of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" to a rare early version of Cole Porter's now standard "Love for Sale" to songs people haven't heard for 70 years. The bulk of the songs are from 1929 to 1933, with about 20% coming from later in the decade. They are mostly Tin Pan Alley pop, sometimes by the cream of that crop (Gershwin, Porter, Arlen, Berlin, etc). Each track is well annotated, with a paragraph or two on the performers, writers, and performance. Often, you get a brief analysis about the music and the themes, peppered with the author's decidedly left-leaning/populist historical views (not surprisingly, as he is writing about a time when "Small Government" had failed us miserably). When appropriate, he groups songs thematically- like songs about money, songs about work, songs about selling your body for sex, and so on.

In short, this is a typical multi-artist set from Bear Family, a label known for top of the line production, remastering, and packaging. No regrets here.