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Some lost opportunities

Candace Scott | Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA | 04/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Unfortunately, they don't give you a track listing here, but this CD encompasses Crosby's duet work, beginning his songs will the Mills Brothers and ending with some things he did with Gary Crosby in the early 50's. The sound quality here is pretty good, though there is some tinny elements to "Dinah" and "An Apple fot the Teacher." There are no great rarities here, these are all standard songs available on many other anthologies. The liner notes are interesting, informative and very complimentary to Crosby. Ultimately, this is a CD of lost opportunities, a disc supposedly showcasing Bing's great duets, yet they omit his greatest duet of all, "Gone Fishin'" with Satchmo! It grieves me to give a Crosby CD a paltry three stars, but Bing completely outclasses his duet mates in these recordings. One wishes all of these records would have made with just one voice, the superior voice, and make no mistake that is Bing Crosby's voice. The only exception is the classic "Bob White" with Boswell- now there is a rousing blending of musical styles, phrasing and talents. The duets with Lionel Hampton are also interesting and exciting. But William Bendix!? Come on, these guys can't hold a candle to Bing and their contributions actually doom those tracks. Bing's duets with wife Dixie Lee are well-known and tortured, they are interesting only for novelty purposes because he curiously sang out of his range in those duets with Dixie. They are very weird, unsatisfying versions of two classic songs.Bing was a jazz vocal pioneer and those who drool over Mel Torme's tortured scat singing need to listen to how Bing did it: he was first and he was infinitely superior to any other white jazz singer who followed him. This disc offers the novice convincing evidence of Crosby's genius and the fact Bing could really *swing,* effortlessly and innately. Those who want to delve further should pick up some of the tracks Bing did with Paul Whiteman and the Rhythm Boys, as well as his unparalleled 1932-1936 recordings - his golden age!"