The Broadway Years, Vol. 2

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In the late 1920s, Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians were one of the most popular bands in the U.S. They toured constantly, played in Broadway shows, starred in Syncopation, the first all-talking, all-singing movie, and made numerous records. The tracks on The Broadway Years were recorded between 1929 and 1932, and include delights such as the original cast recording of the Cole Porter song "Love for Sale" from the 1930 production of The New Yorkers; "Alma Mammy," an Al Jolson take-off that parodies both Jolson's minstrel style and the college songs that were popular at the time; and "I Say It's Spinach," a song that was based on a cartoon from the New Yorker magazine. The Pennsylvanians were an excellent band capable of playing anything, from the sweet sounds of "Dancing in the Dark" to the cartoonish "The Old Man of the Mountain." Although the arrangements are more pop than jazz, they are always inventive and show a great deal of sophistication. The Broadway Years shows Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians at their best, and illuminates the period in American popular music when the frenetic 1920s styles were giving way to the smoother, swing inspired music of the 1930s. --Michael Simmons

Tracks:

Button Up Your Overcoats
Then You've Never Been Blue
Navy Blues
Alma Mammy
With You
Crying For The Carolines
I Want To Be Happy
Tea For Two
Let Me Sing And I'm Happy
Thank Your Father
Love For Sale
Where Have You Been?
Elizabeth
Oh Donna Clara!
Sing A Little Jingle
Dancing In The Dark
Let's Have Another Cup O' Coffee
I Say It's Spinach
On A Roof In Manhattan
How'm I Doin'?
Rhymes
Old Yazoo
Th Old Man Of The Mountain
Well! Well! Well!

Amazon.com

In the late 1920s, Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians were one of the most popular bands in the U.S. They toured constantly, played in Broadway shows, starred in Syncopation, the first all-talking, all-singing movie, and made numerous records. The tracks on The Broadway Years were recorded between 1929 and 1932, and include delights such as the original cast recording of the Cole Porter song "Love for Sale" from the 1930 production of The New Yorkers; "Alma Mammy," an Al Jolson take-off that parodies both Jolson's minstrel style and the college songs that were popular at the time; and "I Say It's Spinach," a song that was based on a cartoon from the New Yorker magazine. The Pennsylvanians were an excellent band capable of playing anything, from the sweet sounds of "Dancing in the Dark" to the cartoonish "The Old Man of the Mountain." Although the arrangements are more pop than jazz, they are always inventive and show a great deal of sophistication. The Broadway Years shows Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians at their best, and illuminates the period in American popular music when the frenetic 1920s styles were giving way to the smoother, swing inspired music of the 1930s. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews:

No mush on this CD, either!.......2002-02-26

One of the points I made straight off in my review of the companion CD to this one, "The Collegiate Years (Vol. 1)" is that the Fred Waring with whom many of us grew up gave us the impression that his style was lush and bland, whereas the reality of the situation is that his early style was rollicking and, most of all, fun! Oh, there are the Waring trademarks: superb musicianship and precise ensemble. This may sound like a sterile environment in which to have "fun", but don't believe that for a minute!
The other review in this space details a lot of the features on this CD, so I won't repeat them. What hasn't been said is that, as with the companion CD, the sound processing is superb. Sources are apparently released shellac disks, but the only noise you hear is a constant shellac hiss -- no clicks and pops. Equalization is about as natural as one could hope for.
The final item on this CD marks the beginning of a 9-year recording hiatus for the Pennsylvanians, due to Waring's then-ongoing battle for royalties owed him by broadcasters who would play his records without attribution. It's a real pity, because he continued to make music like this during these years. Since a lot of it was broadcast on radio, we can only hope that someone may, in the future, publish some of the transcriptions which, no doubt, exist.
An artifact of the aforementioned era has found its way occasionally into the MP3 world: Raymond Scott's parody of Waring entitled, in Scott's typical cumbersome style, "The Reaction of the Musicians to Meeting Waring's Pennsylvanians." I'm not at all familiar with the song they are singing (it was never recorded on 78s), but the humor is brilliant: Waring's trademark precise unison vocal ensemble is a total shambles in this version -- that is, every voice enters about a millisecond off from every other voice! The singing is exceptionally overwrought, and "hey nonny nonny" and "ha cha cha" are thrown into the lyrics. There are musical quotations from "Collegiate" at the beginning and end of the piece, too, just to give it that authentic feel. I hope that the next Scott compilation (soon to be released, they say) will include this piece. On first hearing it, I thought that Scott was ridiculing Waring; however, it now seems to me to be a tribute to Waring and his contribution to the world of pop music -- and a fitting one, at that!

The Sullivan Years: Best Of Broadway, Vol. 2

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The Sullivan Years: Best Of Broadway, Vol. 2
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Tvt
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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The Sullivan Years: Best Of Broadway, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000000GUQ
Release Date: 1993-06-01

Tracks:

Carousel: June Is Bustin' Out All Over - Celeste Holm
Carousel: If I Loved You - John Raitt
Carousel: Soliloquy - John Raitt
South Pacific: Younger Than Springtime - William Tabbert
The King And I: We Kiss In A Shadow - Doretta Morrow
Flower Drum Song: I Enjoy Being A Girl - Pat Suzuki
No Strings: Medley: No Strings, The Sweetest Sounds - Diahann Carroll
Kismet: Stranger In Paradise - Alfred Drake
Stop The World - I Want To Get Off: What Kind Of Fool Am I? - Anthony Newley
The Roar Of The Greasepain - The Smell Of The Crowd: Who Can I Turn To? - Anthony Newley
St. Louis Woman: Come Rain Or Come Shine - Pearl Bailey
Gay Divorce: Night And Day - Dolores Gray
Kiss Me, Kate: So In Love - Patricia Morison
Kiss Me, Kate: Wunderbar - Patricia Morison
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend - Carol Channing
Sweet Charity: If My Friends Could See Me Now - Gwen Verdon

Tracks:

The Sound Of Music: Climb Ev'ry Mountain - Patricia Neway
Fiddler On The Roof: Sunrise, Sunset - Harry Goz
Zorba: Life Is - Herschel Bernardi
Bye Bye Birdie: Put On A Happy Face - Dick Van Dyke
Call Me Madam: You're Just In Love - Ethel Merman
The Most Happy Fella: Joey, Joey, Joey - Art Lund
The Most Happy Fella: Big 'D' - Shorty Long
Wildcat: Hey, Look Me Over! - Lucille Ball
The Unsinkable Molly Brown: I Ain't Down Yet - Tammy Grimes
Mame: It's Today - Jane Morgan
George M!: Medley: Yankee Doodle, Harrigan, Over There, You're A Grand Old Flag - Joel Grey
Annie Get Your Gun: Medley: There's No Business Like Show Business, I Got The Sun In The Morning, I Got Lost In His Arms, Anything You Can Do, They Say It's Wonderful - Ethel Merman

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70 Years of Broadway, Vol. 2
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000001V5E
Release Date: 1994-03-08

Tracks:

Porgy And Bess: It Ain't Necessarily So - 70 Years Of Broadway
Porgy And Bess: There's A Boat That's Leavin' Soon For New York - 70 Years Of Broadway
Knickerbocker Holiday: September Song - Adam Mansell Orch/The Broadway Sgrs
Oklahoma: Oh, What A Beautiful Morning/Surrey With A Fringe On Top/People Say Were In Love... - Ralph Dunnegan All Stars
Carousel: Carousel Waltz - Ralph Dunnegan All Stars
On The Town: New York, New York - Adam Mansell Orch/The Broadway Sgrs
Kiss Me Kate: Wunderbar - Ralph Dunnegan All Stars
South Pacific: Some Enchanted Evening - Adam Mansell Orch/The Broadway Sgrs
The King And I: Hello Young Lovers - 70 Years Of Broadway
Wish You Were Here: Everybody Loves Somebody - Adam Mansell Orch/The Broadway Sgrs

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Music

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