Search - Dorsey Brothers :: Best of Big Bands

Interesting But I Doubt This Is Their BEST

T. Dissinger | Jacksonville, AL USA | 10/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey only fronted a band together for a short time and this gives you a pretty reasonable slice of their recorded output both with their own band and with pickup bands under their name. The only problem is that most of their best material didn't make it on to records in this period and they were forced to record corny "commercial" sides or what almost could be called "novelty" records. A lot of their best material was later recorded by both brothers AFTER they split, like "Stop, Look And Listen" by Tommy, etc. The most noteworthy side is "Annie's Cousin Fanny" which features a lewd punchline by none other than Glenn Miller (he was a writer and arranger for the Dorseys at the time)."

Dr. Heckle And Mr. Jibe

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 08/13/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation spans the latter half of the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra, from 1932 to 1934. It was formed in 1928 as a recording outfit, and remained that way until 1934 when it began playing in public, lasting a further year in the process. The brothers' different temperaments have been well-documented, but harmony prevails throughout this compilation. In that they were aided by such sidemen as Bunny Berigan, Manny Klein, Frank Guarante, Charlie Margulis, and Glenn Miller, depending on their availability. The rhythm section remained constant throughout, namely Dick McDonough, Artie Bernstein and Stan King.



Tracks include the Bill Challis arrangement of "The Blue Room" (more recently re-recorded by Vince Giordano for "The Goldkette Project") , Mildred Bailey's vocal on "But I Can't Make A Man", Johnny Mercer doing the honours on "Dr. Heckle And Mr. Jibe", and Glenn Miller taking the second trombone solo on "Annie's Cousin Fanny". There's an excellent set of notes by Richard M. Sudhalter, and the only reason I haven't given the full star mark is because it's limited to 16 tracks (as compared with 25 on Living Era's CD).

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