Search - Various Artists :: Swing to the Big Bands

Big Bands Box Set a Swinging Buy

Jack Frecker | Tucson, Arizona United States | 08/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been playing my Big Bands CDs for about two weeks now, and really love them. Before buying, I was afraid they might just be old 78 RPM platters re-recorded into CD albums, but happily, not so. They are new recordings by two British bands that sound just like Glen Miller, Benny Goodman and all the others who originally recorded these numbers. They sound better, in fact, because these are in high quality stereo.Do they sound just like the original artists? They sound just as good, possibly improved-upon, is my opinion. I really could not tell a genuine '30s or '40s big band from a quality modern-day band doing their music. However, I know great trumpet when I hear it, fine piano, really good trombones, swinging clarinets and saxophones, not to mention drum solos that are out of this world. Those performances and more are all in these recordings. And, remember, the only authentic music we have left of the old masters is 78 RPM records, for the most part. That and their sheet music, their arrangements. The two bands featured on these six CDs are really great, not only on individual tracks but in the fact that they could imitate over a dozen great bands from the past, authentically and entertainingly.No vocals. All instrumental.No Spike Jones.No "Mairsy Doats."No original artist listed for each number, sadly. You may have to look up their names on the Web if you do not already know who they are.If you bought a record in the '30s you would have found the featured tune on one side, and something you had never heard of or you would never hear of again, on the flip side. None of the obscure flip sides made it into this collection. I recognized half to two-thirds of all the instrumentals on these disks, either by name or by listening to them, or both. And I was about ten in the big band era, not really interested in music at the time. My elder sister and parents listened to "Hit Parade," not I. A few titles are new to me, like a swinging version of Moonlight Sonata, with full orchestra, not just piano; or Anvil Chorus: not Giuseppe Verdi's version, no sir-ee-bob, real jitterbug, that one.At under forty dollars for six CDs, seventy-two tracks, over four hours of great listening, this box-set is a good buy. In fact, compared to today's CDs which cost twenty dollars for one or two bearable numbers and the rest of the disk being obscure trash you would never even let them pay you to listen to, these six CDs are a great buy."

Big Band in Stereo--I Love It!

David Abraham | Utica, NY USA | 09/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent arrangements, excellent musicianship, excellent stereo recording quality. Highly recommended. If you're like me and love big band music but hate the old scratchy recordings of the 30s and 40s, the BBC Big Band is for you. They capture the styles of the original bands and in luscious stereo."