Great collection!
Robert M. Freedman | Gilbert, AZ United States | 11/06/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This collection of twenty-two recordings made between 1948 and 1950 provides a truly marvelous retrospective of one of the best and most popular big bands from that era. Barnet was a leader who attracted some of the finest players and arrangers to contribute to the band's sound, and quality was a constant hallmark of the group. The included version of "All The Things You Are", arranged by Dennis Farnon, introduced a young trumpet-playing marvel named Maynard Ferguson to the music-listening public and is itself worth the price of the CD. (Collectors are paying around $100 for copies of the original 45 RPM single which was pulled off the air and out of the record stores because the composer's "estate" objected so vehemently to the performance.) Other outstanding arranger/composers, including - but not limited to - Manny Albam, Pete Rugolo and Gil Fuller, are also represented on this CD. And if your sense of humor is up to the task, you can listen (and laugh) to one of the world's all-time worst song lyrics which have been attached to a very nice piece of music entitled "My Crime".
Whether this album represents a journey into your past or a view of something you never before knew, you will not regret purchasing it."