Customer Reviews

The Twenties Sweetheart [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Since the Gramophone review posted on this site seems more concerned with Miss Hanshaw's financial status and her backup band, it may be worth mentioning that Hanshaw captured, better than any other vocalist of her era, the Jazz Age. She has a plaintive, wistful quality which you won't find in any other vocalist of the period. Her diction is pure and clear and her phrasing is impeccable.The selections on this CD present some of her finest work. WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A WALK? is the definitive recording of this delightful flapper era novelty song. FIT AS A FIDDLE is a perfect combination of vocalist, melody, lyrics and accompaniment ~ it's the best version of this song you'll ever hear. MOON SONG and LITTLE WHITE LIES demonstrate Hanshaw's considerable gifts for ballad singing. BIG CITY BLUES, THE RIGHT KIND OF MAN and THAT'S YOU, BABY are all in Hanshaw's best tempo ~ midway between blues and hot jazz. The classic songs in the set, BODY AND SOUL and LET'S FALL IN LOVE, are rendered with surprising power and poignance. YOU WOULDN'T FOOL ME, WOULD YOU? showcases yet another facet of Hanshaw's vocal abilities: her near-perfect Helen Kane 'boop boop a doop' impersonation. HO HUM!, a parody of the 'june spoon moon' songs of the period, may be one of the wittiest recordings of the era.

Tommy Dorsey, then a session player on a number of Annette Hanshaw recordings, once said that Annette Hanshaw was a musician's singer. That's a high compliment from Dorsey, who went to coach another young vocalist named Frank Sinatra. Buy this wonderful CD and find out for yourself how brilliant this great forgotten vocalist really is.

Rick Levinson

Annette Hanshaw was just about the only female vocalist(not including classic blues moaners like Bessie Smith) that was really singing jazz in the 20's, the only other was Ethel Waters. Hanshaw would improvise, scat, and swing, backed by only the finest jazz musicians of the time, and since Hanshaw came from a wealthy family and was already quite wealthy herself, she could hire the finest jazz players like Manny Klein, Joe Venuti, The Memphis Five, Dorsey Brothers, and essentailly had the same backup groups that the Boswell Sisters had, in the 30's. Due to Hanshaw's wealth she did not have to record pop tunes like Ruth Etting, or Kate Smith, she chose herself what she would record so it's all jazz, and in fun. She retired in the early 30's unfortionately. This CD is a nice overview of her recordings from the 20's. Highly recommended.

An excellent compilation of her earliest work. In spite of the limitations inherent in the audio equipment of the day, the clarity of her voice comes through extremely well. The musicianship throughout the album is first rate. If one is looking for a superb example of the kind of sound that the best female vocalists of the twenties were capable of, this collection of early Annette Hanshaw provides it.

I discovered Annette Hanshaw about 3 years ago, and instantaneously fell in love with her vocals. Annette was a consummate perfectionist and a very shy person, and these attributes of her personality beam through her music. She has a voice that is slightly timid, but tremendously complex and intriguing. She also nails her stylistic interpretation of each song while still allowing her musicians to stand out. No, her voice can't break glass, and the sound quality of the songs may not be astounding (most were recorded almost 80 years ago), but this is still a worthwhile album. Annette broke a lot of ground as a singer, and introduced the public at large to an "acceptable" form of Jazz, paving the way for those who would go after her. Standouts on this album are "The Song Is Ended" and "Here or There." Both are very strong. "Who-Oo? You-Oo, That's Who!" is a fun song that is reflective of the flapper style. "Under The Moon" is a ballad, one of my favorites from Annette, as she flaunts her vocal range...well over three octaves in the song. This album isn't for everyone, but for people who can appreciate older music and different vocal styles, this is a gem of a record. The Sensation Records (Vol 5, 6, 7) are also quite good.

Annette Hanshaw was the most swingin' singers from the 20's, she recorded many sides with the red hot dixieland/New Orleans style jazz band The Memphis Five. Most of her recordings with The Memphis Five are on this CD. Hanshaw herself was strictly a jazz singer from the start, and since she was an heiress she didn't need to resort to betty Boopish singing, she sang jazz before anyone else practicly. Thic CD covers her earlier sessins and is well worth owning.

Before I discovered this album, I had never heard of Annette Hanshaw and I am 59 years old. Probably anyone under 70 or 80 wouldn't remember her that well or maybe not at all. She is just a pure joy to listen to and has such a relaxed, pleasant sounding voice. Her voice is not powerful, but strong enough to deliver all the songs well. It's also not the babyish sound that you get from someone like Helen Kane. The sound quality was somewhat flat and slightly muffled, but when you consider the age of these recordings and the fact that they were undoubtedly originally recorded in monophonic, the quality is remarkable. A couple of the songs had more noise than others, but mostly they have been well restored and one couldn't expect much better. Just be aware you aren't going to get sharp, clear sound that you would from more modern recordings. This is a real collector's item of great 20's music. The habit she has of saying "That's All!" at the end of a number of songs was delightful to me, even after I heard it a number of times, but some might find it annoying after a few times.

I really love this CD. It has a great number of her 1927 recordings which display that Annette could get a true jazz feeling going in her singing. She wasn't just a sweet little singer at all. She was up for jazz which is evident on "Don't Take That Black Bottom Away" and the uptempo "Ain't That A Grand and Glorious Feeling" and "Who-oo?, You-oo, That's Who!" She was also good at torch songs such as "The Song Is Ended". Annette Hanshaw was an integral part of the 20s and 30s roster of female vocalists.
She was friends with the great Helen Kane and Annette was good at impersonating Helen's style of singing. While these songs are fun, it is best to let Helen Kane sing like Helen and it is a joy to hear Annette sing in her own inimitable style. This is a CD I treasure and I highly recommend it. Annette recorded from 1926-1934. It was too short of a career but she left many grand and glorious recordings!

This compilation features a selection of Annette Hanshawe's earliest recordings, made between late 1926 and mid 1928, at which point she was five months off her eighteenth birthday! It's thus an invaluable acquisition for any serious collector of this period in general, and Miss Hanshaw in particular. The liner note is fairly brief, and although passing mention is made of the various musicians who accompanied her, I wish more effort had been made to identify them properly to each track, all of information is freely available elsewhere.

I bought this CD after these spectacular reviews. And wow, am I disappointed. I should have looked a little more carefully at the track listings, the rave review listing wonderful performances is referring to songs on some other CD, cuz they sure aren't on this one. The opening cut is solid, but it descends from there into a squeaky, tiring vocal without punch or conviction. She is an adequate vocalist, but compared to some of the potent voices that were becoming stars at the same time, these recordings just don't cut it. Her voice misses the notes she wants to hit on a regular basis. "I'm Somebody's Somebody Now" is downright ugly, and how about "Who-oo? You-oo, that's who!"? She sounds positively straining. She can't hit the high notes.

And the concluding "That's all!" her special trademark? Woop-de-doo. It sounds rather obligatory after the fifth or sixth time.

These are early recordings; possibly she got better in the 30s. But if not, I can see why she retired from singing, she must have realized she wasn't that good.