Customer Reviews

I'm Just a Vagabond Lover

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

 

 

If you happen to be like me and love that scratchy old music then you may not like this one. Its the newer recordings and his voice doesn't sound the same as it did in his hayday. Try Heigh-Ho Everybody, This Is Rudy Vallee, for the old stuff.....Happy Listening! :}

It is hard to find a logic or a plan to this release. The included tracks seem to be from any period except that suggested by the cover picture. In that photo, a youthful, slender Rudy Vallee holds a megaphone, everything about this suggesting the 1920s. The songs on this CD, though, are from later in his long career.

That said, there is some good music on this disc. "The Whiffenpoof Song" is a sentimental and emotional one, and very pretty. Keep the tissues handy. "There is a Tavern in the Town" is quite the opposite, a silly song which Rudy can't quite get through, first burlesquing the lyrics, then finally dissolving hopelessly into laughter so that we don't know (or really care) what the last several lines are.

My favorite is "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", a uniquely good-natured song. I am a long way from knowing exactly what this song is about, but it is delivered with conviction and is a lot of fun. Also included is "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?". Rudy Vallee claimed to have recorded this one first, as if to take away from Bing Crosby (who absolutely owns this song, in my opinion). Rudy's version is dignified, and heartfelt (but Crosby still owns the song!).

"Vieni, Vieni, Vieni" was a disappointment to me, as I was hoping to hear the version with the flamboyant pianist and swinging drummer, a studio recording from (I think) the late 1930s. Instead, we have a live recording, date unknown, and vastly different. Normally we could expect anything recorded live to trump a record made in the studio, but I am left a bit cold by this performance, while the aforementioned studio recording cooks. I should add here that I later found the version of "Vieni, Vieni" I had been seeking on a disc released by ASV--titled 'The Vagabond Lover', for any who may be interested--which included several of the same tracks from this collection in better sound ("Mad Dogs" not among them, though).

There are some crackles and pops in these recordings, the CD having been prepared for release before audio restoration techniques reached today's high peak. A bit of echo seems to have been added in the mastering process, presumably to "un-antique" the sound, with limited success. Neither the scratch noises nor the dubbed-in echo are annoying, though, and the disc sounds okay.

Laserlight has provided no liner notes, recording dates, or personnel involved for any of the tracks. This is strictly a bare-bones affair, down to the mere twelve selections included, and not much more than thirty minutes of playing time. But I paid about five dollars for this CD awhile back, and at that price I would rate it at least four stars. My three-star rating here is based on the price, as of this writing, of more than $16. Get it cheap, if you can, and enjoy!

The cover picture on the CD indicated early Rudy but this was a mismash of the decades. If the cuts had been chronological it would have been better but they weren't and there are no liner notes indicating when any of the songs were recorded. If you want 50s Rudy you're better off getting As Time Goes By a 56 reissue or Heigh-ho everybody this is Rudy Vallee, it contains cuts from 28-30 which is my favorite.

Most of the recordings that one hears of Rudy Vallee are from the twenties when recording was still in its infancy. In those old recordings his voice comes across as tinny and nasal. This album contains recordings from the thirties or forties and show Vallee at his best, with a much warmer and very pleasant voice. His version of "as time goes by" is perfectly charming, as is the "Maine Stein Song" and "A Tavern in the Town." If one is going to have a single Rudy Vallee album, this is the one to get.

Some of Vallee's earliest recordings from the 20's are too feminine, he sounds hopelessly fey. However in these sessions Vallee shows some signs of masculinety, in fact his humor and style are very pleasant on this CD, fans of jazz vocal shouldn't overlook him, after all he was a crooner, who wrked with a lot of good jazz musicians.