23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heavens to Betsy, October 2, 2000
This review is from: Songs That Got Us Through WWII, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)
Another great collection to follow up on volume one, although this doesn't quite measure up to the first. However, owning this second volume is a necessity to complement the first volume!
Definite listening pleasure to be had here... "Ration Blues" is a great song and marker for the time period, "Lili Marlene" is an intriguing choice including the German version of the song... with Marlene Dietrich being likely the only person beloved by both Allies and Axis in WWII. "Mairzy Doats" was a nice addition, as it reminded me once more of my grandmother singing it to me when I was a child... and then the two smooth, exquisite pieces of this great album: Jo Stafford's "It Could Happen to You" and even more delightful, Billie Holiday's "Lover Man". Compared with a lot of contemporary music (which scarcely qualifies as music but achieves, rather, new heights in marketing prowess) this is real, powerful, and quite a refreshing change.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remembering more great songs from WW2, December 15, 2006
This review is from: Songs That Got Us Through WWII, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)
Hide your heart from sight,
Lock your dreams at night,
It could happen to you.
Don't count stars,
Or you might stumble.
Someone drops a sigh,
And down you'll tumble.
Keep an eye on spring,
Run when church bells ring.
It could happen to you.
All I did was wonder how your arms could be,
Then it happened to me.
You had better keep an eye on spring,
Run when church bells ring,
'Cause, it could happen to you, to you, to you.
All I did was wonder how your arms could be,
Then it happened, then it happened,
Then it happened to me.
Songs That Got Us Through WW2, Volume Two boasts an excellent collection of songs that remain wonderful to this day even though they didn't always make it to the number one spot on the charts. Mainstream white audiences loved these songs; but many a black soldier and his woman also cherished songs and ballads by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, Billie Holiday and Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra. This CD offers songs that appealed to both whites and blacks and that's excellent.
The CD starts off with the infectiously upbeat, happy-go-lucky "Jukebox Saturday Night" by the incomparable Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The CD then takes a turn with the much more melancholy "Ration Blues" sung to perfection by Louis Jordan. Both black and white people could easily identify this song as rationing was very strict for everyone during wartime.
You won't find a single loser on this album. Other great songs include "There! I've Said It Again" by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra; "Lili Marlene" sung in German by Marlene Dietrich; "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby);" "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To;" the Oscar winning "On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe;" "Mairzy Doats" and "It Could Happen To You."
The CD presents an excellent assortment of songs especially because there are various genres of music on this CD that were all very popular during WW2. "Mairzy Doats" and "Jukebox Saturday Night" were infectiously happy tunes and people could forget their wartime cares listening to these very well done songs. There's the universally shared lament of rationing in Louis Jordan's "Ration Blues;" and there's the human angst that accompanies a romance put on hold in songs like "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be)." Excellent!
The liner notes contain an excellent essay about these songs and American wartime experiences by Billy Vera; and there are crisp black and white photos of legendary performers including Billie Holiday, Johnny Mercer, Dinah Shore and Woody Herman. The quality of the sound is very strong even on my portable CD player--terrific! Bob Fisher at Digital Domain worked wonders when he remastered these songs for CD.
Songs That Got Us Through WW2 provides us with a wonderful listening experience and will certainly bring back memories for those of us who lived through WW2. The selection of songs is excellent; and the remastering is flawless. I highly recommend this CD for fans of big band vocals and classic pop vocals.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great 40's compilation., March 17, 2007
This review is from: Songs That Got Us Through WWII, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)
i was born in 1961, but like the geeky audiophile that i am, i have eagerly dug into all the decades that have produced recorded music. i always thought that the forties were one of the weaker decades out there when it comes to sonic delights. so why do i love the two volumes of "songs that got us through wwii" so much? rhino records has a lot to do with it. as all audiophiles of the cd age now, rhino is one of the best outfits around when it comes to compilations of music. on these 2 wonderful discs from the forties, they have done it again. pure pleasure is to be had here. one drifts back to another time, across decades, to experience the popular songs of another american culture. this is a perfect introduction to that decade for anyone. having heard these two volumes, i can't wait to give the forties another chance. i am being won over, i think. thanks rhino.
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