5 comments about Bebop Spoken Here.

1. The reviews above just about sum it up: great collection, nice selection of songs, and I hear the booklet is great. I bought my box set from another seller and it came without the book. Anyone wishing to sell one or know of a place to get it, please contact me!



2. Se você está interessado em conhecer o bebop, esta é uma boa oportunidade. A coleção traz um apanhado geral do estilo e no mínimo vale como curiosidade para quem quer se iniciar no tema.



3. Like eating really good filet mignon for the first time, and feeling slightly sorry that you deprived yourself up that point. But otherwise, just smiling, swaying to the beat and scatting along.
   
   A good friend of mine who is a semi-professional musician attempted to teach me about modes, how jazz is often constructed. I'm just an appreciative music fan, but clearly the artists on this collection were high adepts, skillful in weaving together some of the most complex yet unpretentious music ever heard. Too many fabulous artists to single out; they're all good. I hope jazz fans back in the day enjoyed this music as much as I do.
   
   BUY THIS COLLECTION AT ONCE!!!



4. As a long time jazz fan, you'd expect that I would have most of the material on a box like this. And I do. But there are quite a few gems I've found nowhere else and, in any case, it's wonderful having all of this amazing music in one place. "Bebop Spoken Here" is indeed a perfect introduction to this challenging subgenre of jazz, but it is also a wonderful set for the connoisseur of jazz. All the greats are here, both the famous and the obscure. If you haven't picked this up yet, do so!



5. This huge compilation casts a wide net, capturing the classic recordings of the giants of bebop: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Bud Powell, the early recordings of future stars like Dexter Gordon and Stan Getz, the popularizers who made it accessible to a larger audience: Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet and Charlie Ventura and the rarities by now-obscure musicians: Freddie Webster, Sonny Berman, Tom Archia, Tony Fruscella and many others.
   
   Why buy this set? You won't hear this music anywhere else as radio these days won't play anything made before the LP era.
   You will discover that although this music was far-out, Dizzy Gillespie was popular enough to have his own big band and a
   major-label record contract. Charlie Parker could play any style,
   his first record with Tiny Grimes is pure swing and Parker plays superbly. You'll hear Trummy Young, Louis Armstrong's trombone player, play superbly on "Good Bait" with Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon. You will hear so much rare and excellent music, otherwise completely unobtainable, by musicians, like Tadd Dameron, so influential and yet now forgotten. You will hear the
   greatness of those who died far too soon like Wardell Gray and Fats Navarro.
   
   If you want to experience and understand this music, this is essential listening. Reasonably priced, excellently documented too!

5 comments about The Songbook Collection.

1. Rosemary Clooney was one of the greatest singers of the great American jazz and pop standards. This collection features her work from 1979 to 1989, with some of the best songs of Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Rogers and Hart, and Rogers and Hammerstein...some of the best American song writers of the past century.
   
   The sessions feature outstanding musicians that really make the music come alive. The recordings have that "Concord" sound: you feel as if it is a live performance and you are sitting just a few feet from the band.
   
   Rosemary Clooney brings the experience of a lifetime to her interpretations of this music, making even the oldest songs in the collection seem new again. This is simply one of those "Desert Island" collections that every fan of the "Great American Songbook" must have.



2. I was in my high school and college when the great female (and male) singers were providing real music. This is a wonderful collection of songs by the master song writers. To the writer who complained about the format of the song I suggest going out and finding a 45 rpm record and listen to the way it was done. To this day we are stuck with the 3 min. song that was the capacity of a 78 rpm record. Sometimes a song would be done on two records because of this limit. This is a WONDERFUL set and I wish they had ones for Kay Starr, Peggy Lee and others. It is only since the CD that this limit gets broken, but those probably won't get air play because the playlists are often set around the old length song.



3. There are some standouts in the Clooney's Songbook Collection, "When October Comes" and "P.S. I Love You" from the Johnny Mercer CD, for example. Her exurberant rendition of "It's De-lovely" from the Cole Porter Songbook and the tender rendition of Irving Berlin's "Better Luck Next Time" are also standouts and may be the best renditions of those songs ever recorded. But the whole collection is solid. Even if you prefer another interpretation of some of the songs, or, like me, do not want to EVER hear anyone sing "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" (and, to my astonishment, serious artists insist on recording it), Clooney's versions are always at least good and there are treasures throughout the collection. I highly recommend it.



4. I bought this collection as I first got into the Standards genre. I really wanted to like it, but it seemed like she hardly sang in any of the songs within. Each song (and I do mean every single number) consisted of one or two short verses, followed by a very long instrumental, and ended with a short closing chorus.



5. Rosie recorded several songbook albums between 1980 and 1990 - six of them are collected together in this beautifully packaged box set. There are not many up-tempo songs here, but it does not matter because Rosie was such a great ballad singer.

   The first CD focuses on the lyrics of Ira Gershwin. George composed the music for all except two of the songs, the exceptions being Long ago and far away (Jerome Kern) and The man that got away (Harold Arlen). Perhaps the best-known songs here are Fascinating rhythm and Nice work if you can get it.

   Rosie raided Cole Porter's catalog to get the songs for the second CD. Perhaps I get a kick out of you is the best-known, but several of the others are not far behind.

   The third CD covers the music of Harold Arlen. The most famous songs here are Ding, dong, the witch is dead (from Wizard of Oz) and Stormy weather.

   The fourth CD is a tribute to Irving Berlin, which includes Cheek to cheek, There's no business like show business and Let's face the music and dance, together with several less well-known songs.

   For the fifth CD, Rosie sings some of Johnny Mercer's great songs. By far the most famous here is I remember you, with which Australian singer had considerable success in the sixties (it was a number one in Britain).

   Richard Rogers is the focus of the last CD, with lyrics by Hart or Hammerstein, of which The lady is a tramp is the most famous.

   Of course, anybody with any knowledge of the Great American songbook will recognise a lot more songs than those I mentioned, but Rosie did not always record the obvious songs, so most people will find songs here that they haven't heard before. This is a truly magnificent collection which is essential for anybody interested in the Great American Songbook.

4 comments about 1940's Christmas.

1. This was an excellent set of CD's and quite a value, as well. I have thrown three seperate parties using these CD's in the past month and I have received nothing but praise from my guests. WONDERFUL!



2. I have a large variety of Xmas music but found this set disappointing. Disk 1 is ok, and the other 2 are fair. Some of the recordings are poor as one of the other reviewers mentioned. Other Xmas music will probably deliver a better value.



3. I swore I would never buy a LaserLight anything again. They have to be the worst of repackagers. Horrible mastering, ugly artwork, no liner notes of any sort and absolutely no thought to the material. Alas, I didn't check the label before I clicked. Only one of the CDs is a 1940s compilation. A Sinatra/Crosby compilation and a Glenn Miller Christmas collection are discs two and three. Half of the Sinatra/Crosby disc is from an old broadcast (actually I think it is from their Christmas special - if so. it isn't even 40's). The quality is really, really bad. The Glenn Miller disc is actually a radio program and unless there is a secret Christmas message in Little Bug Jug, the Christmas label is a bit deceptive.
   
   Check out the offerings from ASV - their discs are always high quality.



4. This is the greatest Christmas music..I look forward to listening to it every year! It recalls the WWII era in the most touching way - sentimental favorites like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and I'll Be Home for Christmas are mixed with some more whimsical tunes like It Happened in Sun Valley (my personal favorite)... It swings and warms and evokes great emotion...I can't say enough...

   It is something that I think everyone should have in their collection at Christmastime!!

3 comments about Platinum Collection.

1. I have been wanting a Charles Aznavour collection CD for a while and thought that this would be it. I was particularly interseted in some key songs of his, such as L'amour cest comme un jour, which is not the original version I have on an old vinyl. This was particularly dissapointing. Overall the quality of the recording lacks the bass (tone) I associate with versions of Aznavour I have heard on older vinyl recordings.



2. I love Aznavour - this is its real deal. I have bought other Aznavour but this one is his original music in French. And it has its best songs



3. In French, that is. This doesn't include any of the English-language versions of his classics, but is otherwise an excellent overview of his 40+ year career. And even though my French is entry-level at best, I prefer to hear Aznavour in his native tongue.

4 comments about The 1930's Recordings.

1. I am a big Mills Brothers fan and thought I just couldn't live without this 5-disc set of their earliest recordings. Frankly, I've become bored. The producer decided every recording, in chronological order, even those recorded twice, three times, even four, should all be included. I've struggled to listen all the way through, and am still working at it; after all, I paid $60 bucks for this set. At the same time I purchased THE ANTHOLOGY (1931 to 1968) which is nothing short of delightful. That's the one I recommend!



2. What a great collection of music! I knew very little about the Mills Brothers prior to buying this set, and pretty much found this item by accident (you know how it is on Amazon). But I have purchased JSP sets before, and was familiar with their high quality and value. So I took a chance on the Mills Brothers, and since getting these I've listened to the set over and over, I never seem to get tired of it. Yeah, a few of the songs are repeated now and then, but it's all good. I have to say that this is one of the best music purchases I've ever made. I'm just glad that CD's don't wear out.



3. JSP has done it again! I'm a big fan of their CD box sets--I've got the Jelly Roll Morton set, the Louis Armstrong set, and the Carter Family set. They're all excellent! This one is no exception. The remastering is by John R. T. Davies, so naturally, the sound is superb. From the earliest 1931 recordings through the 1938 sessions here, the recordings are crisp, clear, and rich-sounding. Each piece is a gem. The Mills Brothers voices blend so smoothly together, I could listen to their records for hours. And with this 5-disc box set I *can* listen for hours! Each disc is packed full, and I appreciate having the alternate takes. Occasioanlly on these discs, the Mills Brothers are joined by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, Alice Faye, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Dick Powell, and a few others. The liner notes are good, and for five CD's, you can't beat the price. My only complaint--and it's a small one--is while the recording dates and master numbers for all selections are given, no indication is made of the original record labels or numbers.



4. My reason for not giving this five stars is due to the large number of alternate recordings of duplicate songs, but this is really due to the utterly documentarian approach the folks that put this CD together followed. Every single recording from the Mills Brothers earliest years are here (in stunningly good sound), presented in chronological order, which means that the listener is subjected to multiple recordings of "Caravan" and others. If you are a Mills Brothers fanatic (as I am), this is an indispensable set to own. If you are a more casual fan, pick up one of the greatest hits CD's listed here.

5 comments about Just for the Record....

1. If you want to listen to just her songs, don't buy this set. It's nothing but Barbara Streisand running her mouth!
   Play the music and shut up, Barbara!



2. Barbra Streisand is one of the best artist of all time. What a great job they did with ...Just for the Record. It is a musical biography. For those of us who first listened to Streisand's music in the 70's and 80's is a thrill to listen to her recordings from the 60's. In fact, the 60's part of the collection has become one my favorite cd's. I love to listen to my favorites -- The Way We Were, Evergreen, A Piece of Sky and found that I have been missing out on so many other beautiful, funny and amazing songs Streisand has performed throughout her career. Another excellent part of this collection is the dialogue from the awards and her introductions to the songs from Yentl. If you have an appreciation for true musical talent and are tired of listening to so called artist that are currently out there, this collection is perfect for you. Now, if only they would do a similar collection in DVD using the interviews and musical appeareances she has done for television. That would be wonderful, not only for her fans, but for those who will see proof of why Barbra Streisand is legendary. Amazon's service was excellent, I received the package 3 days after I purchased it.



3. Released as a career retrospective in 1991, this collection of rarities, never-before-available tracks, and so on is fantastic. It has some remarkable tracks that any fan shouldn't be without.
   
   Disc one has many early 60s recordings, such as a beautiful version of "Moon River" (pre-Movie Album), "Miss Marmelstein" from her turn in I Can Get it For You Wholesale, and the highlight of the first disc, her beautifully harmonious duet with Judy Garland, "Get Happy/Happy Days are Here Again." The second disc continues with the 60s, and we mostly get tracks we probably own elsewhere ("People," "Don't Rain on My Parade"), though it is interesting to hear some acceptance speeches from her Emmy and Best Actress Oscar wins. The 70s disc is probably the best disc, since it features not only wonderful never-before-released tracks, such as "The Singer," but also movie songs never available on a Barbra album, like her great cover of "You're the Top" for What's Up Doc, or the soundtrack version of "The Way We Were." The 80s disc, however, is the worst one, since it is almost all rehashed material from past albums, like "Over the Rainbow" from One Voice, or a bunch of tracks from the Broadway album. But it's still a great disc, if only for her duet with Neil Diamond at the Grammys in 1980, one of the biggest performances in the ceremony's history.
   
   This set is a great collection, but is not for the casual fan, or the person looking to discover her. There are better best of collections out there for them. This is, in fact, a truly great retrospective of Barbra Streisand's beginning, middle, and end (though she wasn't finished just yet). All fans of the singer should have this. It isn't perfect, but there is very little bad you can say about it.



4. What a grand collection this is of the legendary Barbra Streisand, full of unreleased verisons of Barbra's classics, landmark events in her career, unreleased studio and live tracks, original demo recordings, TV appearances, never-before-released show tunes, live nightclub performances, award nights and duets with Judy Garland, Ray Charles, Neil Diamond and more. This collection is approximately 4 hours long all together, it comes with a collector's book of rare photos and a song-by-song personal commentary by Barbra. "Just For The Record" covers every song that had a important impact in Barbra's career up to the point of releasing this boxset. The collection includes Barbra's first song that she recorded at 13 years old called "You'll Never Know". It also includes live songs from her first appearances on TV shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Johnny Carson Show", "The Judy Garland Show" and many more. It also includes Barbra winning the best actress Oscar for "Funny Girl" and winning the Oscar for best song "Evergreen" which she wrote. It includes Barbra winning the 1965 Emmy for "My Name Is Barbra", Barbra singing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" with Neil Diamond at the 1980 Grammy Awards. This collection also includes Barbra's famous songs most of them live versions like "A Sleepin' Bee", a live solo version of "Happy Days Are Here Again", a live "Cry Me A River" and many many more that Barbra is known for. Demos include "What Are Doing The Rest Of Your Life (duet with: Michel Legrand), "Evergreen", "Papa, Can You Hear Me?", "The Moon And I", "A Piece Of Sky" and even a score from "Nuts" that Barbra composed herself. This is a must, a absolutely for any Barbra fan.



5. This collection is a must have for any one who considers themselves a true Barbra Streisand fan.
   From the beginning of her career to the height of the eighties, it's all here.
   Truly one of the best gifts I have ever received.
   There is NO one like Ms. Barbra Streisand - No One!

5 comments about The Divine Sarah Vaughan: The Columbia Years 1949-1953.

1. Listeners' fondness for these performances will no doubt to a great extent depend upon their tolerance for the dated and generic orchestrated accompaniments that are more pop than Jazz. It goes without saying that the singing is wonderful but those who, like myself, prefer to hear Sarah Vaughan in a more decidedly "Jazz" context may prefer other sessions to these.



2. Simply put, this 2-CD Sarah Vaughan anthology is as close to heaven as you'll ever get without dying first. There are three reigning jazz divas; Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan - Sassy Sarah was easily the most accomplished.
   
   Holiday provides the archetype, both through her tragic life and musical legacy, the velvet tone and idiosyncratic phrasing are unmistakable. Amazingly, Holiday made history with just a one-octave range.
   
   For a big girl, Fitzgerald had a very thin and limited voice, however, she compensated with an effervescent personality, irresistible charm, and off-the-hook scat singing.
   
   Only Vaughan possessed true vocal virtuosity, floating effortlessly from soprano all the way to baritone, teasing the notes to the point of delirium with her gorgeous vibrato.
   
   Like so many others, including James Brown, Sarah Vaughan broke into show business by winning the Amateur Contest at Harlem's Apollo Theatre. Only 18 at the time, 1942, within a year she was performing along side Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker - an auspicious beginning to a career spanning decades, almost to her death in 1990.
   
   The quality of her material varied through the years, at times she drifted away from jazz into mundane pop fare featuring arrangements of questionable propriety - but the sheer elegance and beauty of her voice, phrasing, and emotion remained constant. "The Divine One" earned her nickname.
   
   This anthology finds Vaughan at the height of her powers and contains many of the standards associated with her. Far too many standouts to mention, although Black Coffee is unforgettable as are Mean To Me, Come Rain Or Come Shine, and Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year. Everyone can use a little Divine inspiration.



3. Sarah Vaughan possesed one of the greatest voice of all time, and she was the best jazz singer of the 40s'-50's period, her vocie was rich, creamy, velvety and endlessly elegant, and stylishly devine. This cd will make you a fan, and than you can graduate to her Verve recordings, but start here, and work your way up.



4. In my humble opinion, Ms. Vaughan's years with Columbia produced some of her best works. It is good fortune that this re-recorded album contains MUCH MORE than the original album, "After Hours", which is where I first heard these tunes. I own that album and it is totally worn out so you can imagine how thrilled I was to be able to get this new one. Don't miss an opportunity to purchase this album!



5. This is one of the "must haves" of the musical world! Sarah will woo you and make you want to get up and dance, all in this collection! Her enchanting voice has lingered in my mind for ages.

5 comments about Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five.

1. Simply put, for its value this is one of the greatest collections of CD's of utter joy and happiness around.
   
   This multivolume set covers the early music and musical peak of the musical and comical link between Bert Williams and Louis Armstrong (LJ's dad was a friend of Bert's and used his records to inspire his son, and Satch was a mentor and occasional collaborator with LJ) and the first generation of R&B rockers (Ray Chalres, the Godfather, B.B. King, and Little Richard have all sang their praises to LJ).
   
   Some of his really rare early music is found on the early discs. It took him a while to find his style of humorous stories told to a beat and inspired sax playing, but there are still some diamonds in the rough here. "Swinging in the Coconut Trees" is an amusing and atmospheric instrumental, "Keep a Knockin" was later covered by Little Richard, "Do You Call That a Buddy" is a good comical blues with some nice background singing by the T-5, "June Teenth Jamboree" is probably the first record to deal with this early black holiday (LJ was astudent of Black folklore, and incorporated it into his music), and "What's the Use of Gettin' Sober" is the kind of wild, authentic black humor that would put Amos & Andy's "PseudoNegro" antics to shame.
   
   Later on, we get into the familiar bits of inspired nuttiness and great musicianship. "Caldonia," "Sat Nite Fish Fry," "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," "Beware" (and its sequel "Look Out Sister" which has some hilarious early rapping), and what is to me the funniest R&B record of all time, the knee-slapping floor-pounding classic BEANS & CORNBREAD.
   
   We also get some of the calypso tunes with Jordan's expertly delivered "Jafakean" accent such as "Run Joe," "Early in the morning," "Stone Cold dead in the Market," and "Push Ka peesh Kee Pie." The West Indians were flattered by these tunes and LJ made succesful tours of the West Indies.
   
   However, the set ends at about 1950, just before our man's career peaked. But his later material is available elsewhere on Amazon. In either case, whenver you come home from a hard day at work, put this set on your CD player. It'll put your psychologist out of work!



2. I wandered into this CD while checking out the many great boxed sets that JSP Records has to offer. I knew very little about Louis Jordan before hearing this, and now I'm hooked! For anybody whole loves to hear the building blocks of modern music, this is for you. If you like to hear things like Bob Wills, Milton Brown, Louis Armstrong, This is for you.



3. Wolf Shadow, great review. Louis Jordan was my uncle and I have almost all of these great cuts on original 33 1/3s and even 45s and 78s. I will buy this CD to preserve my Louis collection which I hardly ever played in the past 40 years.
   
   I give it four stars instead of five because his grearest blues hit "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is not included in over 130 cuts.
   
   There are others I would have liked to have seen included like 'School Days', which we loved as kids years ago. Plus more of his blues solos. Lots of people did not consider my uncle a "serious" musician, which he surely was.
   
   All in all, a great box set well worth the price.



4. Don't think twice-- buy it! Great collection goes on and on, and never runs out of steam. Louis Jordan was at his peak when these were recorded. I repeat: buy!



5. The sound quality on this set is great with one exception: "Five Guys Named Moe" sounds horrible! It sounds like it was dubbed from an out-of-round record! What's most puzzling is that this is the only track that sounds bad, and that this was one of Louis Jordan's biggest hits, with many superior transfers available. JSP usually does a stellar job with sound - what happened here?! Luckily, I still have my LP version. Otherwise I'd give this set 5 stars.

5 comments about Platinum: A Life in Music.

1. This four disc set was released for the 20th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. It features 100 tracks covering the King's entire career. 77 of the 100 tracks were previously unreleased. But almost all of Presley's best known songs are included, albeit usually in an alternate version. So the famous songs are here to satisfy casual fans, but they are different versions to satisfy hardcore fans who already have everything Elvis recorded. Aside from the hits, there is a very good selection of the best of his other songs. Highly recommended for any Elvis fan.



2. I had purchased this product for a christmas gift for my father. Unfortunately I never recieved it. I tried contacting UPS and they gave me the run around. So unfortunately, my father still has yet to recieve a Christmas gift.



3. This Box Set is Excellent. This set, and the 50's Masters are my favorite. Ill just tell ya what great music you'll experience! Disc 1 has "Hound Dog" from "the" tv performace, and alternate takes of the sun stuff. Disc 2- "Stuck on u" from sinatra special, and a great! "reconsider baby".Then I was introduced to "Milky White Way"(LOVE THIS SONG), and "his hand in mine", and a cool "i feel so bad", Then of course "Something Blue", "How Great Thou Art", and can u imagine watching like an award show today like grammys, or i dont know a american music awards, or a oscars, and you know how they always have music guests singing...well listen to "YOULL NEVER WALK ALONE" VERY LOUD and picture elvis doing this song in one of those shows and just blowing everyone away with his talent and voice. Anyway, U Will love that song! Disc 3-"Tiger Man" great sound quality, and version. The best "Tryin To Get To You" EVER. Best "Suspicious Minds". "Power of my love". EXCELLENT "Funny How Time Slips Away" Disc 4-"Bosom of Abraham", and GREAT SONG CALLED"Ive Got A Thing About You Baby" This box set opened my ears to some great gospel Elvis, and other great songs. The story of Elvis Legend is magical to me, and his talent and star quality/abilities was amazing. Like Harvey Kitel said in "Finding graceland', "Remember the king....." lol



4. This was the first of three Elvis box sets to primarily include previously unreleased versions and performances (the others being "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever" and "Close Up"). BMG/RCA must have been unsure of the marketability of a set made up exclusively of unreleased material, so they hedged their bets with this set by including 23 hits along with 77 previously unreleased recordings. This is a very good collection and provides some interesting insight into Elvis' artistic and recording evolution. While most of the alternate versions are close to the final releases, they tend to have a less polished sound which in some cases I actually prefer. Closing the set with an excerpt from Elvis' JayCees speach was a nice touch - very moving.
   
   Out of the three "previously unreleased" box sets, I would rank this one a close second to "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever", primarily because that one contains 100 previously unreleased recordings while this one only has 77. However, both are certainly worthwhile projects for avid Elvis fans - though they are overkill for average fans.



5. This is perhaps the best *balanced* Presley boxed-set yet. Familiar classics mixed with less familiar alternate takes. The casual fan who might be unfamiliar with a later tune like "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" can hear it in its original release version; can also hear "Heartbreak Hotel" in an entertaining variation. For the dedicated student, there's an amazing amount of tracks with a level of creativity not reached in the first issue ("Guitar Man"), others.
   Brightest highlight: a looser, more rockin' (if you can believe it) workout on "A Big Hunk O' Love" - I think Little Richard himself would be impressed. The hit single was one of the greatest in R & R history, but this less-polished take is one for the ages. The more serious, "personal", Country ballad, "Always On My Mind" caught me a little off-guard. I must be getting older because it nearly brought me to tears - this man is crying out from the deepest recess of his soul. Willie Nelson's made a terrific record of the tune, but this cut surpasses Nelson's *and* Presley's original. "Bossa Nova, Baby" lacks the punch of the hit 45rpm, but has the same fun atmosphere. A few different lyrics will make the collectors smile. "You'll Never Walk Alone" is another intense statement - and another lost multi-million seller. It took a while for folks to really appreciate his performance - and to learn that was him at the piano! It's still electrifying 37 years later.
   There are some problems in sound quality, in A & R, and in historical notation. The "Bad Nauheim Medley" is barely discernable; "Blowin' In The Wind" never should have been included - it works only for the nearly obsessed collector; his accompaniment is apparently a record!. "After Loving You" has little relation to the gem on "From Elvis In Memphis". Also note that two tracks are said to be from '61 when now we read that they were from '59 - actually a big difference in time and in Presley's vocal development. Not a major flaw by any means but to have a progression of dates go '67, '66, then '61 on Disc 2 spoils the overall delivery somewhow.
   The written notes of Colin Escott are tremendous; the photographs are too.

5 comments about Strictly for Music Lovers.

1. Fun to listen to, but there are numerous duplications throughout the four disks, as if the producers just slapped the thing together without editing. And there are significant missing titles. For example, missing tunes include "Morpheus," "Chinese Mule Train," and "Ya Wanna Buy a Bunny?" All in all the music brought back fond memories of my childhood.



2. I just bought this 4 cd set couldn't be happier.Quality is wounderful.



3. This set had many more songs than I had collected before. The quality of the recordings was excellent.



4. This wonderful 4 disc set of Spike Jones material running from 1941 to 1947 is a set to be cherished by long time fans and a fantastic starter set for those trying to find out what Spike was all about.For 95 songs, four discs,a 23 page booklet and at a price like this you'd be foolish to pass up this bargoon!!
   The set features alot of his major material from his RCA catalogue with the rest made up from his transciptions,various live performances and V discs.Some rare,some not heard often,some heard quite frequently over the years but all a delight to the ears.
   Keep in mind that none of this material is direct from the major labels who own the masters but are derived from 78s culled from private collections.There are more than a few cuts that are of inferior quality and/or have had some annoying reverb added to the remixing but overall the sound is quite acceptable and generally satisfying.I recently reviewed another Jones CD by the name of "Fonk" put out by another similar company as this one(Proper Records) called Harlequin Records(another indie company),both coincidentally produced in England.To make a long story short I would take this CD set,sound wise, over that poorly and unevenly mastered one.And "Fonk"(one CD) is not that terribly less in price than this (four CD) set.
   One other minor criticism I should mention is that while each CD comes in its own protective cardboard sleeve I have had a devil of a time(every time) taking a CD out to be played.They seem to get stuck in the sleeve easily and I've had to learn how to carefully cajole them out without scratching the playing surface.If this should happen to you just keep practising you'll soon find out what works best for you.But indeed a minor annoyance.
   So if you're a Spike Jones fan like myself and legions of others what are you waiting for......Feetlebaum ??? Get out there and get this bargain priced set and enjoy every last loving "crash","fonk" and car horn honk that Spike and his zany but talented troupe have to offer up in this must get set.



5. If you are going to introduce Spike and the Slickers to somebody, pick one of the other "Best of" compilations that contain the final released versions of their hits! The reason for this is simple: those versions are the tight, finely tuned performances that made us fans. I consider this CD set an historical archive rather than a "best of collection". Although you'll hear many of the old favorites, they are "pre-release" (my terminology) versions: looser and not as, well, "good" as the final versions. For long time fans, like me, it is interesting to hear these recordings. But if you are brand new to Spike you will not get the true impression of just how great these guys were. Buy a plain old "best of" CD first, memorize it, treasure it, love it, then get this set. Incidently, this CD collection proves that not everything Spike did deserved presvervation, especially some of his "straight recordings". That was too harsh...I am glad I heard those numbers, but I am now trying to forget I heard them. 'Bye now.