Customer Reviews

Voice of the Southland

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

 

 

The Voice of the Southland is an outstanding collection of songs by one of my favorite singers of the 1920s-1930s. The sound quality is excellent for recordings of this period and the selection of songs represent the crème de la crème of Gene Austin's early career (he had a semi-revival during the 1950s). Just a few of the twenty-five great songs on this disc include "My Blue Heaven," the biggest hit of the 1920s, "Ev'rything's Made For Love," "The Lonesome Road," "Just Like A Melody From Under The Sky," "Love Letters In the Sand," and "Ramona." I enthusiastically recommend this CD, another great issue from ASV/Living Era. The only other Gene Austin offering in print, Time To Relax, isn't as good as this one but still comes highly recommended, and at the time of this review is also available through Amazon.com.

I am familiar with the works of Gene Austin for a number of years. All that had been available were scratchy old 78 rpm's. This digitally mastered CD eliminates the noise to reveal the smooth and easy ambiance that characterized his style and times. One the most popular crooners of the Jazz Age (Roaring Twenties), now largely forgotten. An excellent and rare find!

Gene Austin had one of the most beautifully smooth voices in the business. This guy could turn any song into a lullaby. Just listen to "I have a feeling I'm falling" and get a taste of this man's unique talent. The back-up bands are perfect - romantic yearning comes through in both the singer and his band. Lots of great tunes here. Austin is able to interpret each song perfectly for his angelic male voice. Romantic, relaxing, a perfect sound souvenir from the twenties.

Gene Austin was one of the most popular singers of the first half of the twentieth century. He once estimated he sold over 80 million records. This collection includes some of his best songs, including three recordings which Joel Whitburn in "Pop Memories" listed as reaching "number one on the charts."

Here is an excerpt of a description of Gene Austin by Nathaniel Shilkret, who first discovered Austin and who provided the orchestral accompaniment for about half of the tracks on this CD, taken from the recently released autobiography "Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business:"

"One day at Victor I was asked to listen to a 'pop' tune called `When My Sugar Walks Down the Street....' As the young fellow sang the song I was pleasantly surprised by his voice and style.... I asked his name,.... Gene said in surprise, `I auditioned for the Victor twice and I was turned down....' He jumped from an occasional $50 per week artist to a $4000 per week artist."

for those who enjoy the slow, quiet, peaceful voice of Gene Austin, this is a must to have.

Glad I was able to find this CD.

Supposedly, my father was named for Gene Austin, but had never heard any music he recorded.

Chose this CD because it had two of the songs that were reported to be favorites of my grandfather.

I find it to be easy listening - taking me back to another time - and imagine grandparents "courting" to the music.

I even ordered multiples for brothers and sisters so they could have same experience.

As far as satisfaction with ordering, delivery, and condition - GREAT!

I met Gene in 1959, in the airport lounge in Calgary, Canada.He was on the road. The young couple supporting him were called, Sunny Day and Stormy Knight. Gene impressed me with his easy style and sincerity. A true artist and gentleman.