Search - Varsity Eight :: The Varsity Eight, 1923-26

Good hot dance from the mid-1920s

"Gimpy" Peach Johnson | 05/07/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Varsity Eight was just another pseudonym for the California Ramblers, one of the most prolific recording bands of the 1920s. The group made some excellent records under names like the Golden Gate Orchestra, the University Six, the Goofus Five, and others for virtually every record company of the 1920s (except Victor). In general, the group is remembered for its swinging arrangements of then-current popular songs with plenty of room for hot jazz solos from group members, especially the hot bass sax of Adrian Rollini. The sides on this disc were made for the Cameo label between 1923 and 1926, and as such, all were recorded acoustically. The transfers and restoration by Hans Eekhoff are very good and give us the best sound we're ever likely to hear from these records. The liner notes are also quite good, with several photographs to spice them up. I have a handful of Varsity Eight records in my 78 rpm collection and I'm a bit disappointed that one of my favorites, the group's smoking version of "The Charleston" was left off this CD. Although not explicitly stated, the theme here seems to be "hot" records by the group, but after listening through the disc a couple times, I was a little disappointed that the performances here seem a little "tame" and "forced" compared to other CD collections of the same group under some of its pseudonyms. If you don't already have them, I'd recommend CDs of the Goofus Five, the Golden Gate Orchestra (both on Timeless as well), or the University Six (on Retrieval) before buying this CD. It's good, but I enjoyed those others more. Still, this is a nice collection of tunes played by an excellent band of the 1920s and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again."