Not bad for the price, but not great either
Joe Lewis | grand rapids mi | 05/25/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"(Note: there is no Dylan commentary on this set, which I knew going in.)
I was rather disappointed by this one after the "Theme Time Radio Hour - With Your Host, Bob Dylan" set. This compilation has four CD's instead of two but the musical selection is half as interesting, being heavily slanted towards old blues, R&B, and many rather silly big-band-sounding songs with tritely "clever" lyrics, all from the 1930's, 40's and 50's. There isn't a single song from after 1957, which oddly enough is exactly 50 years before the release date of this set, indicating something weasely going on involving copyright and public domain.
The eight-page booklet uses fairly large type and has only six pages of sparse info, all of it sprinkled with minor grammar, punctuation and capitalization errors. I thought the British had higher academic standards than that - it was the most noticeably unprofessional writing I've ever seen in something that was actually printed up for sale to the public. (I'm sure there's worse out there - I just haven't run into it.)
My main complaint is that there were too many mediocre blues, R&B, and "Big Band"-era types of songs. There were a few gems scattered throughout, but I found myself experiencing a certain impatience with the "light" or supposedly humorous World War II-era types of novelty songs, the kind of songs they played between big hits of the day like "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," which ought to give you an idea of the kind of sound I'm talking about. Jaunty "swing" rhythms with a lot of horns and silly plays on words by guys trying to sound like "hip cats." The blues-type songs were similarly uninteresting, rarely showing real emotional depth but rather trying to be humorous about lame comic situations like mother-in-laws and cute underage girls. I would have liked more from the '60's and later, and some more examples of each of the following: "archaic" country and western stuff, weird old songs from the rural south, early reggae, obscure gospel reverberating like an angelic choir through a veil of scratches and hisses on the last known existing 45 of the recording, and cool stuff like that.
At least they had the reggae "Zombie Jamboree," sung by none other than the man who would eventually become the leader of The Nation of Islam, the Rev. Louis Farrakhan. But I didn't learn that from the eight-page booklet that came with this set - I learned it from the book that came with "Theme Time Radio Hour - With Your Host, Bob Dylan," which didn't even have that song in it!
However, all in all, considering the price and the number of songs included, you ought to be able to get your money's worth of enjoyment out of this collection if you like the types of older songs that are typically played on "Theme Time Radio Hour." Just be prepared to hit your "skip" button fairly often.
One more observation: I notice that several tracks start and/or end abruptly, with the fade-ins and fade-outs apparently truncated to save some space and time. Nothing ruinous, just noticeable enough to be mildly annoying."
Bob Dylan's not here
Jacqueline Zeppieri | 06/10/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"It was my mistake to believe that this set would include the comments Bob Dylan makes about each song. I agree with the previous reviewer that there was "something weasely" about this set. The cover and title alone might give it away that this just trades on his name and image."
EVEN WITHOUT DYLAN THE MUSIC SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 06/04/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Four discs,78,77,71,75 minutes each approximately. The sound is overall very crisp and clean,with only a few tracks suffering from their recording era. The six page booklet gives a short synopsis of several lesser known artists in this collection,but has the feel of being put together without much thought or direction. The discs are snapped in,inside the tri-fold book-style cardboard holder. One panel has a number of b&w photos of some of the artists,and is a nice touch. All tracks are listed with title,artist,length,year of release,and are listed under the various themes of the radio format. Some of these themes (usually with two or three tracks each) are weather,coffee,summer,laughter,fools,guns,telephones,devil,eyes,and so forth. The b&w photograph of Dylan on the cover is nice and I'm assuming alludes to his earlier days when this music influenced him,but its possible that its use is for purely merchandising purposes.
Yes,this music is from Dylan's radio shows. And no,Dylan is not heard anywhere on this collection. But the vast array of musical genres/groups heard on these four packed discs makes up (almost) for the lack of Dylan's commentaries. While the focus of most complaints is the fact that Dylan's voice is not heard (which was by and large great),the music goes a long way in making up for it. Artists include Johnny Cash,Bob Wills,Otis Spann,Little Richard,Fats Waller,Sonny Burgess,Muddy Waters,and Louis Jordan,among many other well known artists. But its the unknowns that give this set its depth and feel for a certain era of American music. People like Curtis Gordon,Hurricane Harry,Mr. Sad Head,Tin Ear Tanner,The Charmer,and Little Miss Cornshucks,among others,all contribute some great music-music that you'll never hear on the radio. Many genres are heard here,such as pop,country,rockabilly,blues,r&b,etc.,and most tracks are from the 50's,with a few from earlier decades.
The musical ground covered in this collection is truly a look at American music in many forms from an earlier period. This is music from a time when America was a different place,and music was strictly for entertainment,not to deliver any message,or to indulge any artist. This set is a treasure trove of,by and large,unheard music (with notable exceptions)by artists who at best were popular regionally,or nationally for a short time. This music will take the listener,with big ears,back to a time when music was simpler,unpretentious,and straight forward. Are all the tracks worth hearing over and over again? No. Every listener will have their favorites,and with open ears listeners will find a lot to like here.
This first volume (and the two volumes following it) are a great introduction to some great American music that has influenced not only Bob Dylan,but countless other artists. Anyone who has a liking for American roots music should give these sets a listen. An added incentive is the low price. For around the same money you get four discs of good music,as compared to another label,whose sets consist of only two discs. The lack of good liner notes is a drawback-but the music more than compensates for it. Don't let the fact that Dylan's commentaries are absent-this volume (and the other two) are hidden troves of some real,honest music from a time long past. With the help of these sets listeners can once again hear music that influenced Dylan and any number of other artists."
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1