Search - Various Artists :: Cocktail Hour: Vamps

Gotta Love the Vamps!

Jett McRae | United States | 04/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a terrific 2-CD set at a phenomenal price. It has rare selections from shady ladies of stage and screen. Where else could you find songs of the 20's & 30's from ladies as varied as Peggy Lee, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Carmen Miranda and Lena Horne. Not to mention, this is the one place you can find very rare tracks from the likes of Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis! Those tracks alone are worth the price! The one drawback (as on all CDs in the "Cocktail Hour" series) is the complete lack of track personnel info and liner notes. But I can overlook that and enjoy these wonderful songs from ladies the likes of which the entertainment world will never see again!"

For the price, it's a good deal..

Greg Brady | Capital City | 05/05/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The selections here are passable but not outstanding for the most part. Most of the people here aren't necessarily known as much for their singing abilities as their acting careers (Marlene Dietrich, Betty Grable, Mary Martin, Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Crawford). In the end, THOSE tracks will probably be the prime attraction for their sheer novelty and rarity.



Also, don't expect outstanding sound quality all the way through...several of these sound like they've been mastered directly from 78s rather than tape or other original sources. Admittedly with material of this vintage that may be all that survives...but the liner notes don't tell you ANYTHING about the people on this package so you're left to more or less guess whether they tried to do it "on the cheap"..or whether they just used what's left available.



HIGHLIGHTS:

Judy Garland's "It Never Rains" and "The Boy next Door", Ginger Rogers doing "Isn't this a Lovely Day", Betty Grable's brassy "Put Your Arms Around me, Honey", Anita O'Day's "Boogie Blues", The Andrews Sisters' "Say 'si Si'". The Andrew Sisters guest on the novelty "Cuanto le Gusta" with Carmen Miranda, Bette Davis' playful lament about the lack of men because of WW2 "They're Either Too Young or Too Old", Peggy Lee's Mexican novelty "Manana (Is Soon Enough for Me)" (though quite non-PC these days), Lena Horne's "I Ain't Got Nothing but the Blues"



LOWS:

Dietrich's heavily accented bellowing on "YOu Go to my Head" and "Johnny, Wenn Du Geburtstag Hast", operatic vibrato from Gloria Swanson on "Love (Your Magic is Everywhere)", Mae West is no great shakes as a singer on "A Guy Takes his Time".



BOTTOM LINE:

I'm assuming there are two distinct groups who would consider this:



1) Those curious about standards/vocals/big band music of the 20s-40s. If you're in that crowd, avoid this one...it's not a great representation of the better stuff MUSICALLY from these eras. Try dipping your toes in the waters with one of these instead:



ASIN B0000029HC, ASIN B0000032SP, ASIN B000000CVK, ASIN B00000DI1Q, ASIN B00000336Y (these should get you started and it's quite possible your local library will have them around to sample first)



2) People looking for rarer music of the Roaring 20s/30s era from stars of the silver screen. For them, this is a bonanza with decent sound quality (only a few tracks really sound poor sonically, but nothing's really outstanding either)"