Search - Louis Armstrong :: Stardust

Great Early Pops

T. Bradley Tucker | Richmond, VA United States | 01/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Please do not be swayed by the bad review knocking the sound on this one. The recording quality is fine considering most of these cuts are 70 years old. An excellent collection, including 2-count 'em-2 majestic takes on the title cut, which is one of the finest songs ever written anyway. And fiddle-dee-dee on the fidelity, because IT'S POPS, MAN - IT'S POPS! This collection along with THIS IS JAZZ- VOLUME 1 (Columbia/ Legacy) are an excellent intro to early Louis. This stuff set the tone for practically everything that followed."

King Louis: this is what jazz is all about

Riccardo Pelizzo | baltimore, maryland USA | 02/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cd is absolutely great. The recordings included in this record were made in the early 1930s. Louis Armstrong considered these years the happiest period of his life. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But from a musical point of view, Armstrong made some of his best recording in these years. I do not think that Louis Armstrong ever played with the same energy, the same strength, the same passion and the same drive as he did in the late 1920s and in the early 1930s. But for that matter I do not think that anybody has surpassed what Louis Armgrong did in those years. His trumpet solos were just perfect. They're essential, and they're elegant. And they're really intense as the meaning of a whole life, of a whole existence hinged on each of those notes. Louis Armstrong's performance in Stardust, Georgia on My Mind, Home (When Sahdows Fall) is breathtaking. For those who want to understand what jazz is all about, for those who already love jazz, for those who love Pops, this cd - originally released in 1988- is a real treat."