Search - Glenn Miller :: The Missing Chapters - Volume 1: American Patrol

The Missing Chapters Series

Charles D. Walker | 03/01/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When RCA released its five vinyl record set of the Army Air Force Band in the mid 1950s, it held forth as the ultimate example of the orchestra's contribution not only to the war effort but also to the genre of Swing, with the presentation of high quality material combined with a well thought out production format. Nothing since provided a more definitive example of Miller's finest orchestra until AVID began issuing this series in 1996. This is the pinnacle of the Miller series model, amply showing how good it can be with thought, production effort and a touch of love.There are no kudos which are adequate in describing how wonderful this 9-volume series is. Not only is this work a well thought-out presentation of the Miller AAF aggregation; it is also a wealth of rarely heard and previously commercially unissued material. In some cases, the production staff has achieved miraculous results in remastering the source material, resulting in the finest possible end product of the available title. (I say this with some degree of confidence in that I was stationed with AFN Headquarters in Frankfurt a/Main, Germany and became very familiar with the condition of the original material found within some of the volumes of this series).The tonal quality of the vast majority of the titles in this treasure has been so well restored that, depending upon the quality of your audio system, one is able to hear section ensemble members take breaths during rest points in the scores.There are a few title repetitions within the series, however, they are complimentary to the overall production in that they provide a peek into the transitional improvement of the arrangement. By the same token, those titles which are typical to most releases involving the group, are presented here in "fresh" and oft-times surprisingly innovative arrangements.One cannot do better than to invest in this series. You will absolutely treasure it!The staff at AVID deserve a rousing "well-done" in the compilation of this master work."