"This is a fantastic CD! Even though some of the artists are unknown the quality of the music is excellent. If you like "oldies", you will love this. The songs were all before my time but very enjoyable. It's a peppy CD."
Great music but alot of surface noise
Scott C. Gibson | WARREN, MI United States | 12/24/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Ted Weems Orchestra has heavy representation on this CD. His songs sound as if they were recorded off a radio - too much tinny cymbals, speaker vibrations and hisses. Can't modern technology eliminate the noise? The songs are great. I love #18 - "Girl of My Dreams" recorded by the Blue Steel Orchestra. It is incredibly poignant and beautiful. Overall 5 stars for the songs, but 3 stars for reproduction."
That Hebden Sound
A. W. Senior | Utica, New York United States | 04/26/2007
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I recently bought this "Swing Time" CD as part of an eBay shopping spree. (I know, "fool me once," etc.) I saw that the disc had rave reviews here, and so I was willing to take a chance. Plus there were numbers on it that greatly appealed to me. ("Miss Annabelle Lee" by Mike Speciale was the clincher.) Well, I'm afraid the disc has that "Hebden touch"--that tell-tale sound of digital hedge trimmers above the music. Being more confident and resourceful now in the thick of middle age, I immediately ripped the disc to my hard drive and equalized it in Wavepad (though I imagine Audacity would work well also), cutting all frequencies above 4600 hz. I have to say that except for the one or two that were processed beyond recall (with that lovely underwater digital sound), I managed to create a quite listenable disc. No more loud, screeching, piercing digital noise.
Mr. Hebden always finds such delightful, rare records--and vandalizes them. Good stuff here, hence two stars rather than one. Still, I can't recommend this CD unless you are willing to re-equalize out the higher frequencies and you particularly wish to hear some of the selections."
Excellent twenties compilation
Jmark2001 | Florida | 02/15/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You get plenty of bang for your buck with this collection. Try some of the sound samples on this site and you will find out how enjoyable this album is. I found the audio restoration to be quite good."
Dance music before the Big Band era
Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 01/14/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"ORIGINAL DANCE MUSIC OF THE 1920's & 1930's has quite a few perennial favorites on it, like: "I Wanna Be Loved By You," "Happy Days Are Here Again," "I Found A Million Dollar Baby," "Broadway Melody," "Who's Your Little Who Zis," "You're THe Cream In My Coffee" and "Who's Sorry Now?"
Unlike the swing orchestras of a decade later that had distinguishable styles, there was a certain homogeneity to Roaring '20s hot dance bands, and that is apparent from these 24 sides. Many of the musicians who appear in these older recordings later worked for the most famous 1940s big bands. One example is Benny Goodman, barely out of his teens, who is among the ensemble playing "I Found A Million Dollar Baby." Undoubtedly, Glenn Miller and the Dorseys are here, as well.
Liner notes are insufficient. The album's back cover lists titles and recording dates only. ORIGINAL DANCE MUSIC should please any fan of pre-big band tunes willing to overlook lack of details and some source material in less-than-pristine condition.