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Vintage Welsh Guards

Roger Kennedy | 02/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are a collection of recordings by the Welsh Guards spanning the 1930s. As such they have great historic value. This was the heyday of British military bands in terms of size and appreciation of listening public. The Welsh Guards had a fine reputation as being among the finest of the guards bands in those days. A word of caution to the modern listener. Although these old 78 RPM recordings have been enhanced for the CD format, the sound quality is still not up to date. In my opinion this provides some of the charm to these recordings as we get to hear how they must have sounded over the radio back then. But the modern listener may be taken a little aback by it. The programme of music is also interesting. The discerning band listener will note the different kinds of selections played by the bands during the 1930s. We have a few standard marches like "Under the Double Eagle" and "Children of the Regiment" which remain favorites to this day. In addition we also have many interesting novelty pieces reflecting the kind of music that was popular on the bandstand in those days. Alot of the this music may seem somewhat dated, but it has a charming quality to it, reflecting a slower, bygone era. Bands just don't sound like this anymore. With close to 70 musicians, the musical resources were also more impresive then they are today. The Welsh Guards comprise only 48 players currently, in keeping with the general down-sizing of army music these days. Still, the listener should compare the way the Welsh Guards sounded then and now. This wonderful CD provides the means for one to do so, and to imagine sitting back in another time in Hyde park and listening to the Band of HM Welsh Guards playing on a Sunday afternoon. What could be better than this? I highly recommend this CD for music historians and band music lovers."