No comments about Queen of the Delta Blues, Vol. 2.

5 comments about Roots N' Blues: Retrospective 1925-1950.

1. But oink oink what a money grubber to ask 299.00 for this set.
   Whoever is asking almost 300.00 for this set,I really think that is abit overboard.
   I hope you don't sell it frankly.
   
   I realize you can ask what you want,but this is really over the top.



2. In getting ready to play this set for the umpteenth time since I first acquired it (and with almost 3,000 CD's in my collection, there's a lot of CD's I've never even played twice) I stopped by Amazon to see what others here thought of it. I am devastated to see that it is "no longer available".
   
   This is possibly THE greatest collection of early Roots and Blues music ever assembled. The diversity of talent, the quality of the recordings and the sheer "listenablilty" of it make this a must-own collection for the true roots aficionado.
   
   More importantly, it proves a point I've been trying to make for years. I know a lot of people who consider themselves "music enthusiasts" who believe that Jazz is the greatest form of Native American music, while others disagree and think that Country is the greatest form of Native American music. Still other people I know hold Blues in high regard, or R & B, or Gospel, or even Rock and Roll, all the while looking down their noses at other forms of Native American music.
   
   Guess what? They're ALL wrong! And this collection proves it once and for all. "Roots N' Blues - The Retrospective 1925-1950" does not give a hoot about labels. Simply put, there is no such thing as "good genres" of music or "bad genres" of music - there are simply some musicians who are more skilled than others. For many years, I have been equally fond of Blues, Jazz, Country, Gospel and R & B, and I am SO glad that somebody thought of combining their early common attributes under one umbrella - "Roots". Not too many other compilations would think of offering the diverse talents of Ernest V. Stoneman, the Light Crust Doughboys, the Deep South Boys, Blind Willie McTell and a host of other blues / gospel / country legends all in one collection, but it just goes to show you how interchangeable it all really is. Who cares about labels? Good music is good music, and there is not a single bad performance in this entire set.
   
   If you stumble upon a copy of this collection for sale at any price, and love good music, get your hands on it. Unfortunately, certain wildly popular so-called "artists" of the 21st century will be with us forever, but real music is getting harder and harder to come by. The longer I stay around, the more I see "music" morphing into an "industry" emphasizing fashion statements, hair styles, sexy singers, amplified voices and popularity contests, while offering less and less genuine talent.
   
   Snap it up.



3. How lucky you are if you have this or if you are purchasing it now. I was one of the lucky ones who bought it back in '92, not as a music "scholar" but as someone who loves the history of popular music. When first released "Roots and Blues" was touted as delineating the path to what became rock 'n roll. That it does, but it is so much more-- great, wonderful, charming, moving, delightful, entertaining MUSIC of so many genres, a melting pot of melody-- so... American. What hasn't been mentioned before is the accompanying booklet, a treasure trove of information about every cut and performer. Listen, read, enjoy. Repeat.



4. I would have to agree with all of the reviews posted above, except that I am leaning greatly in the direction of "American Folk Anthology". I find the Roots N Blues Retro. a little lacking when it came to the more honest and sublime works offered in American Folk Anthology. If I had to buy only one knowing the same thing I do now, I would without any doubt or consideration go with American Folk Anthology. Since I have both though I won't even bother entertaining the thought.
   
   I enjoy music from all over the charts and have quite a selection going.
   American Folk Anthology is my favourite piece/s of music I have ever heard or bought, while Roots N Blues Retro may just be second. I can't say much other than if your pocket book will allow it, and in my case even if it doesn't, get both.
   Have a great day!



5. As I write this in mid-2006, the above retrospective box set is now long out of print and is fetching between $70 to $120 from Amazon's 2nd tier vendors. It is quite doubtful that it will be reissued in the near future.There is a myriad of selections, eclipsing The Anthology of American Folk Music in running time, years covered as well as musical styles- so this is still not a overpriced purchase at the above prices.
   The reviewers above and below have done excellent jobs describing the variety and overall enjoyability of the tracks. My only point here is that this is strictly a release from Columbia's (and its associated labels) vaults. While they were certainly the biggest at the time, they weren't the only player documenting early blues and folk styles.
   Therefore this is an excellent companion for a beginning enthusiast along with Harry Smith's AAFM. Both are voluminous and extremely important.
   I personally enjoy both tremendously but for different reasons: AAFM is more urgent and haunting, while this collection is certainly more "listener friendly", a more accurate account of what the public enjoyed between 1925-1950.
   The AAFM to its credit has been far more influential to the contemporary blues, folk and rock idioms; and after a few listens, I can begin to understand why.
   So therein lies my suggestion: get both! And with regards to this brilliant collection, do it soon before it fetches $150 and up. Enjoy...

1 comments about Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1921-1923).

1. Alberta Hunter was more of a sophistocated caberet singer then a blues shouter, she is suave while singing the blues(where other artists shout) Hunter talks her way through a blues piece. One of the most sophistocated blues singers from the 20's and one of the finest jazz singers of the 30's. This is a wonderful documentation of a great blues/caberet/jazz singer.

1 comments about Look for the Silver Lining.

1. It seems that Marion Harris (real name Mary Ellen Harrison) rose quickly from obscurity to the top of her profession, was enormously popular for many years, but then faded back to obscurity just as quickly. In the end, she fell asleep while smoking in bed and burned to death, aged 48. Two marriages during the height of her popularity produced three children but both ended in divorce. The second divorce roughly coincided with the end of her period of popularity, but the real reasons for her sudden fall from grace are unclear. A third marriage later in life proved more successful. All of Marion's problems cannot take away from her undoubted talent. Marion's voice may not have been exceptional, but it was very warm, pleasant and extremely effective. whether singing ballads or up-tempo material. Thus you are likely to be able to find covers of songs popularized by Marion that improve on the original, but it's easy to see why Marion's records were so popular in their day. Except for the title track, which has been moved to the front of this CD, everything is in chronological order.
   
   Marion's first recording contract was with Victor. Based on Joel Whitburn's charts for the period, Marion had eleven hits with Victor. Five of them made the top three and those five have all been included here, the biggest among them being the number one hit, After you've gone. Twenty tracks represent Marion's music with Columbia including three number one hits (St Louis blues, Look for the silver lining, Tea for two) and sixteen other hits, all of them top 7 or better. The final Columbia track here (My canary has circles under his eyes) failed to chart, as did the final track here (Oo-oo-ooh honey what you do to me), recorded for Decca in 1934. My one disappointment with the track selection is the omission of Who's sorry now? Marion had a top 5 hit with this song and it was the most popular vocal version of the song in its day, though an instrumental version by Isham Jones charted higher. Many people make the understandable mistake of thinking that Connie Francis was the original singer of this song. No she wasn't; Marion Harris was (since nobody sang on Isham's version). But Marion's version, not included here, remains elusive. In its absence, the most familiar songs here (albeit you're more likely to have heard them via covers rather than Marion's originals) include It had to be you, I'm just wild about Harry, I'll see you in my dreams, The man I love, St Louis blues, Look for the silver lining and Tea for two, but not necessarily in that order. You may recognize a few others too.
   
   It would take a double CD to do Marion's music justice, but in the meantime this is the only career-spanning compilation of Marion's music so far released. It is now out of print because the ASV label shut down in September 2007. As I write this, stocks of ASV titles are still available but obviously won't last. Marion's Victor recordings are still available on The Complete Victor Releases. In the long term, perhaps another label (Jasmine, perhaps) will fill the gap by releasing a different compilation of Marion's Columbia and Decca music.
   
   Finally, anybody buying Marion's music must allow for the age of the recordings. The sound quality is very good for music this old.

1 comments about Woman Blues!.

1. sPIVEY SOUNDS GREAT, A FINE EXAMPLE OF LATER PERIOD SPIVEY

3 comments about A Fine Romance: Jerome Kern Songbook.

1. This is one of my all-time favorite CDs. I originally bought this as a cassette but recently purchased the CD. I have listened to this for nearly 10 years and it's such a great mix of songs and singers that I have yet to grow bored of it. From what I've read, though, if you are a big Jerome Kern fan, you may not enjoy these renditions of his songs. I would suggest listening to the demos first before buying. My favorites are "All the Things You Are", "Yesterdays", "Bill", "They Didn't Believe Me", "I'm Old Fashioned", "Why Do I Love You?"... oh, who am I kidding.. all of them are my favorites!



2. Charming songs, sung by a variety of talented performers. The audio quality is excellent, just as it is for every Verve CD that I own. This is a nice compilation, suitable both as an introduction to Kern and the various singers and as a compilation to play at a party.



3. In his lifetime,Kern despised jazz versions of his songs. Many of the versions on this disc and on the two companion discs in this series are just that. Verve has reached for, it would seem, the lowest common denominator for its selections. In fact, some of the tracks have no vocals at all, which is strange considering this is a "songbook"! It is better than no Kern at all, but you will find more authenticity in KIRI SINGS KERN on EMI that anywhere on this or the other two discs. Sorry, but pass this one up if you are a purist.

5 comments about At Newport Live.

1. As noted in the album liner notes this CD is a poor example of even Ella Fitzgerald's work. Second, as noted in the Amazon Review: "Worse, the stage announcer's audible suggestion that she (Ella) move closer to the microphone results in overmodulated distortion on four-fifths of the set." Finally, Billie Holiday's voice is weak and Carmen McRae's voice is harsh in these performances.
   
   As suggested (between the lines) in the D. Davis review this CD is really only for hardcore collectors of live music. If you want to have the feeling of being at Newport for these 1957 performances including the original sound distortions and performance glitches this CD will take you there. Ella's scat singing on "Airmail Letter" is undeniably charming. Nonetheless, For most listeners almost any other CD by these artists should be considered before this one.



2. The 5 stars are for Ella's contribution to this album. Here she is folks -the one and only singin' and swingin' and havin' a ball - and you will too! Right from the getgo with This Can't Be Love, Ella gets you in the mood to feel you're right there at Newport 50 years ago...50 years...amazing! Ella caps off a great set that includes Too Close For Comfort, Lullaby of Birdland and Body and Soul, with a fantastic interpretation of Airmail Special, a true tour-de-force of incredible timing, perfect pitch and brilliant inventiveness. Others have had a stab at this number, but this is the original - and the best!
   I'm afraid, Billie and Carmen had to take a backseat to Ella at this concert. Billie sounds tired, and almost comes to a near stop during What a Little Moonlight Will Do, and the usually polished Carmen McRae just sounds distracted and under rehearsed.
   No, this is Ella's album - a brilliant, blazing, and joyous performance from the best jazz singer in the world.



3. The reviewer D.Davis (see reviews below) really did an excellent job on his/her review of this recording, in fact, he pretty much nailed it. Folks, I love all three of these legends and I was so excited to hear this CD after I made the purchase. Having said that, it has to be one of the most disappointing albums in my entire jazz collection. Billie's performance (or lack thereof) really was just plain awful and depressing. It is almost painful to listen to at times and you can really tell that she was not only dying physically due to the drugs, alcohol, etc... but also emotionally and spiritually as well. Ella does an admirable job and is by far the highlight of this album. For the most part, she will not disappoint most of her fans. The very young Carmen McCrae not only (as the above referenced reviewer pointed out) sounds a bit too 'loud' on most of her songs, she also sounds to me like she was a bit overwhelmed, almost as if she was trying to hard. She just doesn't quite have it yet, and of all of the great many recordings she has done in her life, this one is by far the least memorable in my opinion.
   
   As I stated before, I really thought that I was going to go gaga over this live recording at Newport. Unfortunately, I can not recommend this, knowing that there are countless recordings by these three legends that are so much better. I usually don't like to write negative reviews (especially when it's regarding favorite performers of mine) but this CD really does disappoint. Is it horrible? Not by a long shot. However, it's just not the Billie and Carmen that we are so accustomed to hearing and loving.



4. It was the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival and promoter George Wein programmed on successive nights arguably the four greatest jazz divas of all time--two in their prime, one clearly past it, and the fourth not as yet there. Ella and Sarah, performing on July 4 and 7, were the "book-ends," both clearly at the top of their games (I'm not one of those listeners who prefers the later Sassy). Lady Day, sounding as shaky as ever and slurring both her speech and lyrics, appeared after Ella, and an exuberant, overachieving Carmen McRae served as a set-up for the culminating concert by The Divine One.
   
   The performances are far from consistent, and not one of the four is stellar enough to merit its recommendation to someone new to any of these singers. But as a teenager I had the original Verve LP, limited to most of Ella's concert on one side, and Billie's on the other. As much as Ella's scat singing impressed me ("Air Mail Special"), it was Billie's performance that made the lasting impact (perhaps akin to the effect Judy Garland's latter-day recorded concerts have on some listeners). Never before had I absorbed the dramatic lessons of a song's lyrics as completely as when Billie started her program with "Nice Work If You Can Get It." Far from seeming like she was on auto-pilot, she utterly seduced me, leading to my discovery not just of "Lady in Satin" but of all the early Columbia and Commodore recordings as well.
   
   Carmen's performance had been omitted until now, and it's an eye-opener. Far from seeming gushy and hyper, as some critics have charged, she reveals the powerful and lovely soprano register that was once hers and, above all, her gift of elocution--every syllable, consonant, vowel, and diphthong gets full value when she sings, a respect for diction that would be her trademark throughout her career. Compare Carmen's reading of "Body and Soul" with Ella's on the same disk. Carmen changes the awful construction, "My life a wreck you're making," to something far more palatable before she projects it with her customary, unmistakable clarity.
   
   Sarah Vaughan was under contract with Mercury records, so her performance has been made available for the first time, more than 45 years later, on a separate Pablo release, "Linger Awhile." She almost equals her consummate singing on another recording made at about the same time: "Live at Mr. Kelly's." About her performance at this Newport event there's one recorded moment that always grabs me: she sings way out of tune for one of the phrases at the end of the first chorus of "Sometimes I'm Happy." Intentionally? To get the listener's attention? (She succeeded.)
   
   Finally, the listener of this CD will have an opportunity to compare not merely the first three singers but 4 different rhythm sections (since Carmen's own trio was late to arrive, she employed two different trios during the course of her set).
   
   Sometimes you can get as much if not more from performances that fall short of perfection. With 3 divas and 24 songs, this recording no doubt represents one of the best values available on a single CD. Add the second CD with Sarah's performance and head for a desert island.



5. When you get 3 divas on stage at Newport each singing great material that should be a cause for celebration.
   Ella sounded pretty good,Billie close to death, and Carmen elated but overbearing missing her band that did not make it there for the most part.the backing bands rather loose presenatation makes this CD a package of musical curiousity.
   Not exactly a performance that will rank as a milestone from all the other great recorded gems that came out of Newport,but one of these kinks of a CD that offers you a glimpse of realsm into 3 singers that are important in Jazz history.
   Enjoyable and playful with added time,remastering and colorful packaging,yes, wondering what went wrong also yes, essential for the collector also yes...crucial,no.

No comments about The Riverside History of Classic Jazz.

5 comments about Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia (1933-1944).

1. I'm not going to add to what others have already said about this box set, except to say that it is well worth the money.
   
   Just an FYI -- this set can still be bought new as of 12/24/07 at amazon.co.uk; that's where I bought my copy.
   
   Cheers.



2. Fantastic set except for the packaging, mine was falling apart the day I opened it. I know this is out of print now and I am wondering if it was ever repackaged after the inital crummy packaging run that I purchased. If anyone knows post a note here so I can look for it on Ebay. Cheers.



3. I have listened to this music my whole life long, from the early 10"LPs on, and I already had 4 different reissues on CD of Lady Day OK & Columbia recordings, but - friends - what these guys have done is an incredible sound improvement, quite different from previous CDs & LPs. And the package is almost perfect, just like an old 78s album. Do not worry too much about what other friends have written, the sleeves beeing too tight and so on: you just have to be a little careful. Had I to stay on the famous lonely island, this is the jazz album I would need to have with me!



4. Giving this release less than 5 stars is just irresponsible. These sides are beyond critiscm, they are part of the legacy of the human spirit. Yes, there are cheaper imports, but those are rip offs. This time Columbia did a great job and they deserve your hard earned money. Of course, it would be nice that 10 copies of this were sent to every library in the country, I cant think of a better way to improve jazz apreciation in this country.



5. I would need much much more than a thousand words to tell you about my feelings related to this sublime music.How many times I cried listening to some tunes,or was feeling incredibly high and happy listening to other ones.
   If you want me to play to the "desert island" game,I would only take this set with me;you don't know how I treasure Monk,Duke,Armstrong,Trane,Bud,Bird,Bill Evans,Bechet,Fats Waller,Hines or Tatum,but I''d surely forget them all to keep these Columbia years of Lady Day with me.Here is the most fantastic music I've ever heard,here are the highest moments of the history of jazz.NOBODY never recorded such a bunch of masterpieces in some eleven years;nobody,even Duke.Here is a colossal set of the most amazing music you'll ever hear.
   This is the third time I purchase these sessions:first,I bought them on 33rpm,some 25 years ago;then on separate CDs;then,a friend of mine let me listen to this set,and what a shock!!! The sound is so great that I thought I was discovering tunes I knew for years and years.It seems that Billie and the guys are playing in your room,just in front of you!!!
   Now,for those who have no idea of what's in this very beautiful set,let's have a glance at the musicians you'll listen to:the ghotta of jazz is here!!! LESTER YOUNG,Teddy Wilson,Johnny Hodges,Duke Ellington,Count Basie,Benny Goodman,Chu Berry,Jo Jones,Buck Clayton,Roy Eldridge,Ben Webster,Benny Carter,Charlie Shavers,Red Allen,Cootie Williams,Hot Lips Page,Bunny Berigan,Jack Teagarden,Walter Page,Milt Hinton,John Kirby,Cozy Cole,Sid Catlett,Kenny Clarke,Freddie Greene,Dickie Wells,Hary Carney,Harry James,and many more.
   About the tunes: masterpieces,masterpieces and masterpieces!!!
   It would take some ten pages to describe it.Of course,the most magnificent ones are those in which Lester Young plays.Lester and Billie,Pres and Lady Day;they had the most magical musical complicity of the history of jazz,they really LOVED each other,even if their lives had separate ways;Lester,the Greatest of all jazz saxophone players,was born 1909;Billie,the Baltimore child,was born in 1915;they both died 1959,Lester in March,and Billie in July.The tunes they recorded during these years,the tunes you'll listen to in this set are very simple to describe: it's LOVE.and maybe the most beautiful that ever was.Maybe,these are the most sublime masterpieces in the history of Music."when you're smiling","he's funny that way","travelin' all alone","mean to me","foolin' myself","me,myself and I","born to love","gettin' some fun out of life","I'll never be the same"....I could listen to these tunes a hundred times everyday.This music is magic;it'll make you feel great.And you'll cry sometimes too,because of too much beauty.Here is the very best of Jazz,a music that gave us tons and tons of beauty;Billie's voice is at her most expressive,so young,so fresh,so joyful,and so sexy (and even sometimes,so sexual);Lester 's playing ,even if he only blows short choruses,is the most beautiful one that ever was ("all of me","foolin' myself","born to love","mean to me",...).
   Here is sublime music;the most magnificent you'll listen to.I couldn't live without these records.They are my copanions since I was 15 years old;I spent hours and hours listening to them,wether I felt high or bad;and even after 23 years of frequent listening,they seem to me as fresh and new as when I discovered them.
   Thanks a million,Lady Day (a nickname Lester gave to Billie),thanks a million for so much beauty.It never happened in the history of Art.

No comments about This Is Art Deco.