Search - Ray Noble :: Hmv Sessions 8: 1930-1934

Some of the great Ray Noble-Al Bowlly collaborations.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 05/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Band leader, composer and arranger Ray Noble directed hundreds of recordings in Britain in the early 1930s. Many featured the velvet-voiced, South African vocalist Al Bowlly. A starry array of instrumentalists participated: Nat Gonella was there, Freddy Gardner's saxophone is heard, and even the eminent oboist Leon Goossens appeared in the credits at some sessions. The recording quality was uniformly excellent. In the 1960s all the Ray Noble/Al Bowlly British recordings were reissued on LP and lively and insightful notes provided by Brian Rust. These notes have been retained in this present reissue, for which Michael Dutton has supervised the digital remastering. This eighth volume contains 25 recordings made between February and July 1934. Three or four pieces were recorded at each session, some requiring up to five takes. Ray Noble's own creation - "The Very Thought Of You" - required only one take. Its lyric, said Noble, was "as sincere as I could make it"."

THE VERY THOUGHT OF AL

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 01/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the penultimate CD in the chronological series, beginning in February 1934 and covering nine further sessions, up to and including 6th July. By that time news had broken that Noble planned to depart for America later that year. In the meantime more first-rate recordings continued to emanate from the HMV studio, top-quality compositions in first-class arrangements, played by the cream of London's dance band musicians, with vocals by the supreme Al Bowlly.



Included here is the definitive version of another of Noble's great compositions, "The Very Thought Of You", but romantic ballads are seasoned with the western-flavoured "Wagon Wheels" and the eastern-orientated "Night On The Desert", reference to Holland with "The Little Dutch Mill" and a bedtime song with "Little Man, You've Had A Busy Day". Embellishing the music, as throughout this series, are Brian Rust's original notes."

For Ray Noble fanatics

Lorraine Petkus | Chicago, IL USA | 09/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I debated giving this CD 5 stars, it has no background hiss and was remastered well but the music didn't pop out at me. This is Volume Eight of The HMY Sessions, I've only purchased this Volume and don't know if I'll try and get the others. I prefer the CD The Very Thought of You which I would give 5 stars, even though there is minimal background hiss, I like the song selections better and the music seems to pop out at you. Listening to it you makes you feel like you've stepped back in time."