Swing Music

Of the entire series, this has to be the best - Rousing music! It surely was a good year for Benny! Of particular note are selections #1, "IF YOU BUILD A BETTER MOUSETRAP"; #2, "AT THE DARKTOWN STURTER'S BALL"; #3, "JERSY BOUNCE" (the GOOD version); #6, "A ZOOT SUIT" (who else did this one so well? - a rocker); #7, TANGERINE (a fine alternative to to Jimmy Dorsey's version); #8, "A STRING OF PEARLS" (My favorite Glenn Miller song - Benny does the best alternative version I've ever heard); #9, "MY LITTLE COUSIN" - A young Peggy Lee singing one of the most alluring melodies of the era. Absolutely superb band music. I could do a Texas shag to this one all night long!; #10, "RAMONA" - Reverbarating, dancable Big Band at it's best! Perfect balance to #9. Let's Dance, y'all! #14, "THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT" - Most people probably think Frank Sinatra did this first - here's the earliest version I've ever heard. Chalk this one up for trivia!; #15, "ST. LOUIS BLUES" - A rousing version, perfectly shaggable; "BEFORE" - Gents, get ready to gently boogie to Rachmaninoff. Benny's taken a classic and turned it into a supremely dancable piece. If you can't dance to this one, CALL ME! #14, "I THREW A KISS IN THE OCEAN" - Rocker, trust me. #18, "WE'LL MEET AGAIN" - Peggy Lee with an absolutely perfect band backup. Shaggable! #20, "THERE WON"T BE a SHORTAGE OF LOVE" - Let"s shag!!! Wango! Wango!; #21, "PETER AND THE WOLF" - An absolute classic! Big Band at it's best! Saxes, trumpets, clarienets. Bouncing tune perfect for those who SHAG; what a tune!; #22, "YOU'RE SO EASY TO DANCE WITH"; Holy Cow! No wonder Fred and Ginger liked this song! Another FANTASTIC shag piece. This is one of Benny's best. #23, "ALL I NEED IS YOU" - Wipe the sweat off and grab her. Here's your chance to hold her tight with a bit of shag to not be so obvious. #25, "TAKE ME" - Holy Moley. If you can't dance to this one, dad, you're dead.

This is THE best Big Band/Swing CD I've ever brought into my collection. You Will NOT go wrong with this one,

Mike Keel

This recording was a "Holy Grail" find which I had been trying to get for a long time.

It's an absolute must for any collector of early Frank Sintra or for a collector of Tommy Dorsey, or Jo Stafford recordings.

The sound quality is excellent. All I wish for was a better booklet which is why I chopped of 1-star.

If you want to add to your collection of pre-solo Frank-try to get your hands on this-if only for historic purposes. Since it's hard to get grab it as soon as you can.

These sessions were recorded around the recording ban in 1942/43 and show Condon at his fluent best with a variety of small combo's.The first six tracks were recorded before the ban. Tracks 7 and 8 were recorded with an entirely different band for Signature after the ban, and the rest of the tracks were all recorded in December 1943. Condon was able to surround himself with a fairly regular set of sidesmen, Max Kaminsky on trumpet and Pee Wee Russell on clarinet were fixtures, but he was also able to attract sympathetic players - and so Benny Morton is on trombone on tracks 9-12, whilst James P. Johnson plays piano on tracks 7 and 8. Above all it sounds as though they were enjoying themselves, not just working through a set of sessions. This is what emerges from this CD, another example of good remastering and excellent sleeve notes from the seldom less than excellent Classics Collection