AUSTRALIAN WHO PLAYED VIOLIN AND SANG
Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 11/08/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Brian Lawrence came to England in late 1927, and sang with various dance band and studio groups before forming his own group in 1934, which played nightly at Quaglino's Restaurant in London's West End, and recorded some excellent jazz sides. In 1937 he began recording for Rex with his Lansdowne House Orchestra, and this compilation is drawn from that later period.
The recordings reveal a competent dance band, playing stock arrangements in a very straightforward manner, and Brian Lawrence's vocals deliver the lyrics adequately but without adding that edge that lifts a performance above the competition. I do hope that if Vocalion decide to issue a follow-up they'll concentrate on his earlier small groups."
Share My Father's Music
Jeremy Lawrance | Sydney Australia | 06/21/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is just a small example of my father's work in England during the '30s. A great selection.
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