Search - Mills Brothers :: Essential Mills Brothers: Four Boys & A Guitar

Great Overview Of Their Brusnwick Material

01/17/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD (on Columbia/Legacy CK57713) contains 18 of their best known tracks from their early years with Brunswick records. Some of the songs included are: "I Heard", "Fiddlin' Joe", "Chinatown, My Chinatown", "Swing It Sister", Diga Diga Doo", and "Dirt Dishin' Daisy". All tracks are relatively clean sounding and not too clicky or scratchy (a nice change from most of the reissues of these early 1930s "lo-fi" recordings). It also contains a previously unreleased and only known copy of a test pressing of them singing "My Little Grass Shack", which is great to hear, and a nice version to boot. Well worth having in your collection, and these "Four Boys And A Guitar" tracks are every bit as entertaining as they were when released over 65 years ago, before the Mills Brothers went more "pop" in the early 1940s with songs like "Glow Worm" and "Paper Doll". END"

The Finest Collection of Mills Brothers Songs I've Ever Hear

K. Brown | Walnut, Ca USA | 03/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a major fan of The Mills Brothers for ten years now. What jumpstarted my love of their vocals was a chance meeting with the song "Diga Diga Doo" on my car radio when I was driving home one cloudy morning. I have picked up six different compilations of their work since then, and this collection is my "Desert Island" pick. I have always been preferential to their early recording years; the upbeat songs are incredibly smooth, the melancholy songs haunting! Don't get me wrong, The Mills Brothers remained great until the end, but there is something about their voices in those earlier years that is very soothing; it feels as if they are singing the song to you personally, with a gentleness in their voices that is meant to calm your soul! That might sound melodramatic, but that's the only way I can describe the effect they have on me. The songs that hit me hardest: "Old Rocking Chair," a mournful tune about an elderly man living out his last days. As sorrowful as the lyrics read, there is something comforting in the way these gentlemen sing the tune. "Jungle Fever," an incredibly sultry song for its day about a man longing for his native dreamgirl. "I Heard" is not only a catchy tune, but a clever and humorous piece where we hear folks passing vague gossip down the line. If you own other Mills Brothers compilations, shell out a few more bucks for this particular collection. If you've never owned any Mills Brothers before, you owe it to your audio-soul to begin a new CD collection, starting with "Four Boys and a Guitar.""

Great Music Never Goes Out of Style

Scott T. Rivers | Los Angeles, CA USA | 11/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Four Boys and a Guitar" remains the perfect introduction to the Mills Brothers' early recordings. Most of the 1930s classics are here, along with memorable collaborations featuring Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Don Redman. Though no longer in print, this Columbia/Legacy CD is worth seeking out."