Customer Reviews

50 Tracks in One Day With One Hour for Lunch, Of Course [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] 2CD SET

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

 

 

Not only a collector's treasure, but also an example of what a good group can do when it is up against the wall. I've probably listened to these two discs about ten times and am amazed at the quality of Goodman's group when you realize that many (most?) of these pieces were done in one take.

Although this is fairly early Goodman (1935), many of the cuts sound as if they came right from the '38 Jazz Concert or the '37 air shots album. The pieces are mature. On other cuts, the group has more of a dance-band feel to it; on a few, it's Goodman, but not quite there. This is not a criticism; as the album notes say, their book was not complete enough for this large an undertaking --transcriptions for a series of NBC radio show inserts-- and they had to make up new arrangements quickly.

I highly recommend this for all Goodman fans, without reservation. I also recommend it for recording artists who can't figure out how to do *one* track in a day. (Oh, the sarcasm!)

When RCA released the cd Good To Go in 1999, they said they were going to release the other 25 tracks in a follow up cd. Well, they never did and collectors such as myself was forced to wait for the other 25. This import solves the neglect from RCA. The good news is that the remastering is practically identical, so don't worry that this one was not remastered by the master Steve Hoffman, like the American cd version. This has the other 25 tracks and contains selections never recorded by Benny later in the studio. It also has an early versions of such classics as "Stompin' At the Savoy" and "Down South Camp Meeting". The later versions make you realize how much smoother and tighter Benny's band would become. Since these are transicptions for NBC's dance hour, most of the songs all have the same basic dance tempo, which can get monotonous at times, so play in average doses. Since these are all one take items, you can't help but marvel at the sheer muscianship of this band. Listen carefully for Benny's missed notes! They can be heard rather easily in "Royal Garden Blues" and "You Can Depend On Me." You don't get to hear Benny squeek all that often, but you can on these two tunes! "You Can Depend On Me" is the Earl Hines classic taken at a rather quick tempo and the arrangement is fine. It makes one wish that Benny recorded this in the studio. This is his only recording of this Earl Hines classic. A welcome addition to big band fans and Goodman collectors alike!

I was hoping this would be a Lionel Hampton-free set, and it is. I love Lionel Hampton, solo and with BG, but sometimes those vibraphones take a good dance track and muck it up. I feel much the same way about Artie Shaw and His Gramercy Five's use of the harpsichord. Those instruments just don't swing. That out of the way, this is some straight, no frills swing dance music. No vocals what-so-ever, but don't let that get you down. BG's clarinet more than makes up for that. Also evident, thankfully, is the drumming excellence of Gene Krupa. All the tracks were recorded in two sessions on the same day, so they do have a very uniform feel. This is a really great addition to my Benny Goodman collection (no offence Mr. Hampton!).