"As a serious Glenn Miller Fan, I bought this CD for his music first. I had heard the Andrew Sisters on other compilation CD's and loved their talent, so I thought they and the Glenn Miller Orchestra would be a great combination. Well, I was right, but I wasn't prepared for how right I was! This CD is absolutely wonderful!! Not only do you get the intros and speaking from the band that make you feel you have just stepped back over 60 years, but you get the fabulous singing of the Andrew Sisters plus the Glenn Miller "sound", which compliments the sisters like peanut butter compliments jelly! And just like that combination, you'll love it and will never get enough of it no matter how old you are! I'm 36 so I didn't grow up with this music, but I am convinced that this era of music is the finest our country has or will ever produce. These were the true masters and nothing today can light a candle to this stuff! Enjoy this one!"
A New Must Have For Miller Fans
Bob Fry (otomandbob@worldnet.att.ne | West Des Moines, Iowa | 06/26/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The legions of Glenn Miller Fans around the world now have a new disc for their collections, an heretofore unheard sampling of the very first Chesterfield Broadcasts, covering the thirteen weeks beginning December 27, 1939, which featured the immensely popular Andrews Sister, Patti, Maxine and Laverne. The disc is presented as if it were one complete radio program, although it does run much longer than the original 15 minutes (including commercials) that the original shows played. Beginning with the opening Bulova Watch time check, we are transported to that CBS Radio studio in New York, where announcer Ed Herlihy tells us its Chesterfield time, and to settle back for America's favorite Swing Trio along with ace arranger and popular band leader Glenn Miller. Its swing with attitude from there on in. The liner notes are very thorough and give detailed information on every cut, even to stories about the girl's fights and why Patti sings alone on I Love You Much Too Much. We get to hear the first time Donkey Serenade is performed on the air, and it never sounded better than with Glenn's solid arrangement backing them. Also featured are several of Glenn's tunes without the girls, including a very touching Indian Summer, dedicated to ailing announcer Paul Douglas, and the ever-present In the Mood. I am excited for Volume Two to be released, as it promises more of the same, with no repeats. (The trio did twenty five different songs during those 13 weeks, plus an additional 14 versions of ten of those songs.) Bravo to RCA Victor and bring on Volume Two!"
Very, VERY Enjoyable! :-)
Bob Fry (otomandbob@worldnet.att.ne | 02/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Swing/Big Band music is not my hobby. I'm in my early 20s and bought this CD to have something to listen to with my grandmother as I drove her to and from chemo and radiation. Surprisingly, I LOVE IT! I didn't think I would. All the Andrews Sisters' songs really move. I love percussion and the solid, fast tempo the drums keep. It being a live performance makes such a huge difference. You can just feel all the performers' energy. I found myself bouncing around in the car and singing the songs all day long. My friends think I'm nuts. My grandmother loves me to sing the old songs to her now -- we're jitterbugs. ;-) I don't know much about the finer points of music, all I know is that this CD puts a big smile on my face."
Glenn Miller Meets the Andrews Sisters
Chandler V | 02/23/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fellow swing fans, it doesn't get any better than this! The best bandleader of all time backing the best swing singers of any age on one bargain-priced, superbly recorded CD! Maxine, Patty, and Laverne A. really get the Paramount Theatre jumping with their renditions of "Hold Tight," "Donkey Serenade," "Say Si Si," "Beer Barrel Polka," and one of their all-time hits, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon". And Glenn, Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke, and the "boys in the band" are behind them 1000%. On those rare occasions when the Andrews Sisters come up for air, the band fills in with screaming brass riffs, smooth reed figures, and hard-hitting drumming. (The backup work on "Say Si Si" is especially exciting.) The band does its bit alone on the enchanting "Indian Summer" (solo by Ray), the rockin' "The Rhumba Jumps!" (with Tex and Marion), and "One O'Clock Jump" (which features a great trumpet solo by either Clyde Hurley or Durham, NC's Johnny Best--not sure which). All tunes were recorded live during the "Moonlight Serenade" Broadcasts (sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and announced by Paul Douglas, who made it big in Hollywood after WWII) between December 1939 and March 1940. After that all-too-brief period, the Andrews Sisters and Mr. Miller parted company, never to work together again. Thereafter, each marched separately into music immortality. But for these thirteen wonderful weeks, they were making music most marvelous. If you can only afford one Miller or Andrews Sisters CD, buy THIS one."