Search - Various Artists :: Giants of the Big Band Era

Jim O. from TULSA, OK
Reviewed on 9/27/2014...

One Disk of 12 songs by Artie Shaw
One Disk of 14 songs by Glenn Miller Orchestra
One Disk of 12 songs by Tommy Dorsey
One Disk of 14 songs by Benny Goodman

A Taste of Excellent Music

Rudy Harrison | 03/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This should be a must for owners who want to hear excellent music from some of the world's foremost musicians. All of these Band leaders gave music the continued feelings and needed sound that was called for then and is needed now. This box set should be used as a teaching aid for all music students and youngsters so that they can feel and get a taste of the good music from the swing era!"

Interesting Big Bands Collection

Philly Gal | Philadelphia, PA USA | 01/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Now here's a third review of this extensive compilation of original Swing Era hits: There are many fine pieces included by the best of the best. Many are not the cleaned-up takes that made it to the radio broadcasts and record shops, but every track is a full version performed by the original artist. Some appear to be cleaned live performances, some seem to be outtakes or alternate versions that were deemed good enough to be preserved by the studios. The sound could be better, and we found that twizzling the Dolby equalizer helped tremendously on our older system. On a new Bose unit, the sound was greatly improved. We came by this set a while back as a catalog purchase, and it wasn't cheap at the time. We do enjoy listening to these discs, because there are many pieces that are hard to find, and it is interesting to hear some alternate versions by the original artists and their bands. Just remember, the sound isn't top-notch, but the great quantity and variety of swing and jazz pieces make this collection worthwhile."