Search - Bing Crosby :: Golden Greats

The definitive budget sampler of Bing's Decca classics

Bradley Olson | Bemidji, MN United States | 10/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bing in many ways was as popular in his day as Elvis Presley was in his day, they both sold millions of records, appeal to very broad audiences, acted in many movies, both remain icons to this day, etc. Now for the review of the package: Although they did not include any liner notes, they did not cut down on the music much at all although it is very hard to issue a truly definitive Bing Crosby package in 75 tracks as many more of his classics could have been included, but for a budget collection, you can't go wrong with this as among its 75 tracks it has the majority of his biggest hits including of course, the Christmas classic White Christmas, MacNamara's Band, Ac-cent-tchuate the positive, Whiffenpoof song, Don't Fence Me In (with the Andrews Sisters), Where The Blue of The Night Meets The Gold of The Day, Sweet Leilani, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Pistol Packin' Mama (with the Andrews Sisters), Alexander's Ragtime Band, Swinging on a Star, Deep In The Heart of Texas and lots more plus many lesser known but just as great gems from throughout his career with Decca and Brunswick Records, although he would have had 1 more top 10 hit in 1956, True Love, it stops at 1951 due to legal issues, but in this case it works out as his commercial popularity on the charts was declining for the most part, with True Love from the "High Society" soundtrack, being the exception, but other tracks such as I Surrender Dear and "Blue Skies" should have been included. If you are on a budget, but do not want to settle with the single CD/LP collections such as "Bing's Gold Records" or "Bing Crosby's Greatest Hits," or you can't afford MCA's more expensive boxed set with much of the same material, this is the best deal to settle with. Christmas collections, the I'm an Old Cowhand CD on ASV which is a great overview of his cowboy songs recordings, and a few other collections can compliment this set if one wishes to go further, but for most people, this is the definitive set of Bing's glory days and at a good price to boot..."

Inexpensive, but...

11/14/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Golden Greats is an ultra-budget series coming out of the Netherlands. All of the songs are slapped together from various sources and in no particular order, and there are no liner notes or session information at all...only the titles listed on a white jewel case. Now, for someone who is on a real budget or isn't all that concerned with quality, this is just fine. For instance, I wanted some Andrews Sisters tunes, but I am certainly not a big fan, so I got one of these Golden Greats sets of the Andrews Sisters, and I feel it was a good deal. Unfortunately, a few of the tunes were at speeds a little too slow, others too fast, and others just sounded rotten, but to be fair, a number of tunes were acceptable, if not quite great.At this point I must share with you the fact that there is a set called It's Easy To Remember from Proper Records which has FOUR discs of impeccably chosen, chronologically sequenced music which covers all the facets of Mr. Crosby's wonderful singing, and with exquisite sound quality. The It's Easy To Remember set also comes with a thick booklet containing extensive and well written liner notes including Bing's life story and all of the dates and musicians involved on these timeless tunes, and in a nice hard-cover box. Yes, It's Easy To Remember IS twice the price of Golden Greats, but it EASILY emerges as the better value. I am a big Bing fan, and It's Easy To Remember is the best budget Bing collection yet, and is the one I recommend to all interested parties. Bing Crosby is a towering figure of the 20th century, and he practically invented popular singing as we know it...his voice is a marvel which deserves to be heard with decent quality sound. Golden Greats is not the worst choice, but for just a little more the consumer really should consider the other set I've mentioned, It's Easy To Remember, available right here on Amazon."

Good for those who didn't grow up with digital. . .

Candace Scott | 12/29/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I heard that Golden Greats remaster old 78-speed records inexpensively and sell them inexpensively as a 3-disc set. This is good for those listeners who grew up with this music and analog technology, but is not good for first-time Bing Crosby listeners who love their Cds over record.I recently bought this collection and had no problem with most of the tracks. Yes the songs were filled with surface noise (particularly all of disc 1) and were in mono; but I enjoy taking out an old record and playing it as well as listening to a remastered CD. A lot of people these days are mainly biased about their cd quality. Since we live in an age where DVD will soon replace analog video cassette and Cd will probably replace some audio tapes, too many people want the best quality available. However, not everything (and this includes all the Golden Greats Collections) was recorded on digital and will show the technological flaws of its time. That is why Golden Greats is just, well, golden great for some people. Nevertheless, for most of the young audience and first time listeners who can't stand scratchy records I'd say pick up anything on the MCA label and Crosby recordings done after 1940. But for most of you old timers buy Golden Greats and enjoy."