Swinging Sounds of the Great Bands [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orchestra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Eric Records
• ASIN: B00000JNAY
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,998 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bugle Call Rag

2. Leap Frog

3. Take The 'A' Train

4. Intermission Riff

5. Night Train

6. South Rampart Street Parade

7. Ciribiribin

8. New No Mane Jive

9. Back Bay Shuffle

10. Tippin' In

11. Opus No.1

12. Moten Swing

13. Cherokee

14. Jumpin' At The Woodside

15. Study In Brown

16. In The Mood

17. 720 In The Books

18. Woodchopper's Ball

19. Flying Home

20. The Elks' Parade

Editorial Reviews

'Swinging Sounds Of The Great Bands'- between 1957 and 1964, Capitol released a series of LPs entitled 'Sounds of the Great Bands' that featured Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orchestra playing big hits of the swing era in their original hit arrangements in Full Dimensional Stereo! In other words, these albums were the most hi-fi big-band listening experience to date, and this fantastic collection selects 20 of the best tracks in the series. Includes 'Bugle Call Rag' performed in the style of Benny Goodman and more classics, from Eric Records.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best re-recordings of swing orchestra hits, December 8, 2004

By 

Claude Avary "West Coast Reader" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Swinging Sounds of the Great Bands (Audio CD)

"Stereo Recordings" of old swinging big band hits are pretty much a dime a dozen-or in most cases, $6.99 in the bargain section of the music store. Most of them are flat out awful, performed by some cheap, thrown together, no-name orchestra, complete with flat tones and lazy readings of the original music.

But not this album...this is as good as recreation as you're likely to hear. The tracks on this album are collected from recordings made in Capitol Studios in L..A., one of the great dynamic recording studios, between 1957 and 1964 and released under the name "Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra" on a series of popular LPs. The wide separation stereo sound and airy acoustics arouns the instruments sounds better than a lot of the more run-of-the-mill digital stereo recordings made today. Stereo was a point of pride back then!

Technically, this isn't the TRUE Casa Loma Orchestra. That unit formed in 1929 out of a Detroit band called the Orange Blossoms and was the first all-white professional swin band, paving the way six years later for Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, et al. They took their name from a hotel in Toronto where they played an extended gig and formed as a corporation with each member as a stockholder. Glen Gray was the bandstand leader and front man, but was never the true leader of the band and his name never appeared in front of the bands until years later on LPs. The band ceased to exist in 1942.

The band heard here is a studio recording group that Glen Gray brought together for the stereo LP series. And even though they aren't the TRUE Casa Loma Orchestra, the musicians on here are topnotch and graduates from some of the great big bands of the period. They do a superior job covering the numbers presented here. The arrangements are strictly those of the famous versions: if you're familiar with the Glenn Miller version of "In the Mood," you'll recognize here pretty much note for note, only in wide spread stereo.

Pretty much everything on here is great listening. The two pieces that particularly impressed me are "Cherokee" and "Jumpin' at the Woodside." The first is strongly identified with Charlie Barnet and his growling saxophone, but almost every cover I hear of his version falls miserably flat -- nobody can get the right boune and fury in their sound to match the origina. But the Casa Loma Orchestra here gets damned close to getting the job done, and this is the only cover I've heard that does justice to the original. As for "Jumpin' at the Woodside," one of Count Basie's big hits. the Casa Lomans almost sound exactly like Basie, and that's a tough thing to pull off.

The only piece on here that doesn't strictly follow the original orchestration is "New No-Name Jive," one of the original Casa Loma Orchestra hits. Glen Gray felt he could play around with it a bit.

The enclosed booklet provides details on each of the pieces, as well as comments from Glen Gray himself that were on the original LPs. Altogether, it's a nice package, and even though more expensive than someother re-recordings, it's the best one to get. Also check out the follow-up CD: More Sounds of the Great Swing Bands

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A high quality big band time capsule., April 17, 2001

By 

Ed Eckbreth (Delaware) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swinging Sounds of the Great Bands (Audio CD)

This CD faithfully captures the big band sound from the swing era using high quality recording technique unavailable from the technology of that day. Next to big band music that was included on 35-millimeter film sound tracks in the 1930's and 40's, there are few recordings that sound this good. The musicians who contributed their talents on the CD are a who's who of great sidemen who actually played in famous bands of the swing era. The fine styling of these performers lends authenticity to this collection of "covers". I strongly recommend this CD as a first big band album in someone's collection, and also as a very worthwhile addition to the library of a hard core big band enthusiast.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glen Gray Swings the Biggest Big Band Hits!, June 22, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Swinging Sounds of the Great Bands (Audio CD)

This is a magnificent CD! It has about 70 minutes of great big band tunes, the original arrangements, of many great songs. Outstanding stereo recordings that will bring back memeories to all who "lived" this wonderful era in American music. If you like the sounds of the big bands and want excellent quality recordings, original arrangements, and over an hour of it, get this one for sure! Eric Records produces top-notch quality that will not disappoint even the most discriminating ear. A most definate 5 star CD!