You're A Grand Old Rag: The Music of George M. Cohan

Colin Pritchard (Performer), Bernadette Boerckel (Performer), Rick Benjamin (Conductor), George M. Cohan (Composer), Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Colin Pritchard, Bernadette Boerckel
• Conductor: Rick Benjamin
• Composer: George M. Cohan
• Audio CD (November 3, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: New World Records
• ASIN: B001CE53L4
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,531 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Presentation of Cohan's Music, March 13, 2009

By 

George Moore (New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You're A Grand Old Rag: The Music of George M. Cohan (Audio CD)

The always delightful Paragon Ragtime Orchestra has again produced a fine album. Their approach to Cohan's music indeed has the right feel. It is without question a joy to hear.

Bernadette Boerckel contributes her fine voice to the entertainment, and one regrets not hearing her sing "Ethel Levey's Virginia Song." (Ethel herself can be heard singing it under it's more common title, "I Was Born in Virginia," in "Music from the New York Stage 1890-1920, Vol. 1: 1890-1908)." Her take on "That Haunting Melody" makes a nice contrast to the 1911 Jolson recording of the same number.

Let us also put in a good word for Judith Sherman's production.

The liner notes devote some time to the difficulty the Paragons had in finding someone who could give the impression of Cohan's singing. (Note, not "do an impression," but "give the impression of"). Unfortunately, there are few extant examples of Cohan's singing to use as models, but one may be found right here on Amazon - "Carousel Of American Music: The Fabled 24 September 1940 San Francisco Concerts," a transcription of a 1940 show put together for the San Francisco World's Fair by Gene Buck. Second to closing, the headliner's spot in a Vaudeville bill, was George M. Cohan.

Listening to Cohan sing a chorus each of (and, in the case of the last number, probably dance to), "Give My Regards to Broadway," "The Yankee Doodle Boy," and "Grand Old Flag" is a revelation, and an interesting contrast to Mr. Pritchard. I believe the band in San Francisco may have been playing something akin to the original arrangements -- the show was a one-shot, hastily put together. The liner notes say only that the musicians were "members of the San Francisco Symphony," but they sound like a larger aggregation than this Paragon recording. What comes through loud and clear in both efforts, though, is Cohan's music.

Interestingly, Cohan himself seems to like to get a little ahead of the orchestra. However, his attack, his energy, and his sincerity are his and his alone. These do not come across in the Paragon disc, and in my opinion, its only weak point.

Buy the album. The music is wonderful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PRO does it again!, January 2, 2011

By 

D. Whited - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: You're A Grand Old Rag: The Music of George M. Cohan (Audio CD)

Another great recoding from PRO doing an excellent job on Cohan's music. It's a pleasure to listen to these performers do a quality job of research and faithful recreation of early Broadway.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly beguiling, December 30, 2010

By 

James Duncan (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: You're A Grand Old Rag: The Music of George M. Cohan (Audio CD)

Everything seems right about this recording--the arrangements, the performances, the selections. I especially like the sound of the smaller pit orchestra. It makes a nice counter to the big Warner Bros. sound in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (which is enjoyable in its own right).
Colin Pritchard stands in beautifully for Cohan in the signature vocals. His historically-grounded performance makes me appreciate even more what the brilliant James Cagney accomplished in Yankee Doodle Dandy. And Cagney must have spent time with Cohan to prepare for his role in the biopic. Between the two performers, we have a pretty good vocal portrait of Cohan.
With this recording, the curtains part and we can imagine ourselves in the audience at a turn-of-the-(19th to 20th)century revue of George M. Cohan's best.