Search - Cab Calloway :: Missourians 1929-30

This is one of our favorite Cab Calloway CDs!

06/23/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first part of this CD consists of recordings made by the Missourians before Cab joined their band. Their instrumentals are exuberant, beautiful pieces. If you are a connoisseur of old Betty Boop cartoons, you may recognize some of these pieces: Cab Calloway and his Orchestra (the former Missourians) perform the eerie Prohibition Blues and thumping Vine Street Drag in the cartoon Minnie the Moocher, and Stoppin' the Traffic at the end of Snow White. The Missourians's old band leader, Lockwood Lewis, sings the lyrics on You'll Cry for Me, But I'll Be Gone. Megaera says, "No wonder the Missourians were glad to get Cab!" Harsh! The second part of the CD includes Cab's earliest recordings with the Missourians. In our opinion, this early work of Cab's is some of his best. St. Louis Blues is awesome, as is this early version of St. James Infirmary.The CD also includes Yaller, a gruesomely tacky piece, but included for completeness. The Viper's Drag, an instumental composed by Fats Waller, is an eerily beautiful and unusual piece. This is the first recording of Viper's Drag, and the only orchestral arrangement ever recorded. This is a rich CD!"