Search - Bing Crosby :: 16 Most Requested

BRILLIANT MUSIC

Matthew G. Sherwin | 01/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is great stuff. This album presents an extremely brief overview of Bing's output from 1931-1934 for the Brunswick label. This period is not represented on the Decca box-set Bing! His Legendary Years, which adds much to its appeal. Of course the ever prodigious Bing produced a HUGE wealth of recordings, even during his short tenure with Brunswick, and this cd gives you a great, albeit minuscule sampling of them. You Will Want More. In any case this is a decent place to start. These recordings feature Bing when he was young, hip, and freewheeling, and man does he cut loose on numbers such as Dinah, Shine (both with the Mills Brothers), and Sweet Georgia Brown (with Woody Herman). His cool phrasing and Speed Of Light scatting will send your jaw to the floor, and will impress even the most ardent jazzbo. You will also hear the Great Depression anthem, Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?, the blue rumination of I Don't Stand A Ghost of A Chance With You (the lyrics of which Crosby had a hand in), and great romantic fare such as Irving Berlin's How Deep Is The Ocean? Sinatra Fans will recognize You're getting To Be A Habit With Me, and I've Got The World On A String, the latter of which features future Sinatra collaborator Tommy Dorsey, along with his brother Jimmy. There is no annoying hiss, although perhaps Columbia HAS tampered with the tunes a bit too much, sacrificing some clarity for the sake of noise reduction. Anyone with more than a passing interest may want to check out the excellently mastered It's Easy To Remember Box Set, or some other discs which deal with this period. Unfortunately there is no definitive set dealing with Bing's Post-Whiteman and pre-Decca days. Perhaps the successful release of jazz critic Gary Giddins' brilliant Crosby biography A Pocket Full Of Dreams, will get more of these precious recordings into the hands of music lovers soon. Let's hope so."