The Original RKO & Unique Masters

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Let us not forget that this country's beatniks and dropouts were the same World War II veterans that would eventually start the Cold War. Watching your buddies die in front of you can make you psychotically dour, or make you a giddy loon. The Vagabonds were goofballs of the Spike Jones persuasion who dressed up in turbans and grass skirts and sang silly -- often with a Louis Prima husk, and with a Hawaiian edge--to the troops. Some of this stuff is so anti-socially bizarre, that one suspects shell-shock or, more likely the pull of the hipster dopehead. "Salt," for example, is an anarchically impassioned plea for that rationed item, while "Pony Ride" treats us to a pleasant infantilism of grown men that the entire country would take its cue from in the 1950s. --D. Strauss

Tracks:

I'm Confessin' That I Love You
Tea For Two
September Song
Rhapsody Boogie
If I Had My Way
Dardanella
Valse Bluette
Ritual Fire Dance
Peggy O'Neal
You Are Always In My Heart
Dance Of The Comedians
Cat's blues
Fantasie Impromptu

Customer Reviews:

Early Harmonicats Recordings.......2002-03-03

If you're even a minor harmonica enthusiast, then you should be aware of the Harmonicats and their place in the history of the instrument. Jerry Murad, Al Fiore and Don Les recorded "Peg O' My Heart" in 1947 and it went on to become the biggest selling instrumental record of all time. The harmonicats spawned hundreds of harmonica trios, most of whom were doing Harmonicats tributes.

This recording is made up of recordings that they made in the late 1940's. Included on the collection is "Fantasie Impromptu", the recording that was the original A-side of "Peg O' My Heart". The Cats felt that this was the better of the two pieces and it deserves a place in any serious collection. Also on this CD is "Peggy O'Neill", a pale attempt to cash in on the "Peg" craze. There's a couple of boogies featuring Don Les on the diatonic harmonica. It is really a shame that Jerry Murad grabbed so much of the spotlight. Don Les was a gifted player and deserved more exposure. Al fiore's playing on this recording is exceptional as always.

Overall, if you're a harmonica fan, this CD should be in your collection.

Amazingly bad.......2000-06-13

Worst composition, sound quality, etc. of any CD I have ever had the misfortune to listen to. The other one (cherry pink) is pretty good.

Excellent Musicians' Work Ruined by Poor Reproduction.......1998-05-03

If you like hearing your music as played through a mattress, this CD is for you.

Average customer rating:

Strictly for a specialized clientele

The Original RKO & Unique Masters
The Vagabonds
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000001515
Release Date: 1997-05-27

Tracks:

vagabonds theme
i wish i could shimmy like my sister kate
salt
it's goodbye and so long to you
i wonder, i wonder, i wonder
lazy river
the queen's hula
pony ride
wrong
minstrel medley: back in your own back yard/i want to say hello/rockabye your baby (with a dixie...

Amazon.com

Let us not forget that this country's beatniks and dropouts were the same World War II veterans that would eventually start the Cold War. Watching your buddies die in front of you can make you psychotically dour, or make you a giddy loon. The Vagabonds were goofballs of the Spike Jones persuasion who dressed up in turbans and grass skirts and sang silly -- often with a Louis Prima husk, and with a Hawaiian edge--to the troops. Some of this stuff is so anti-socially bizarre, that one suspects shell-shock or, more likely the pull of the hipster dopehead. "Salt," for example, is an anarchically impassioned plea for that rationed item, while "Pony Ride" treats us to a pleasant infantilism of grown men that the entire country would take its cue from in the 1950s. --D. Strauss

Customer Reviews:

Strictly for a specialized clientele.......2004-04-01

Don't let the cover photo or the "daffiest, laffiest" tag fool you; there isn't much comedy here. What there is, is a modestly talented singing group that does some old-time favorites like "Sister Kate" as well as newer tunes. "Salt", the only overtly humorous song here, is funny more for the lameness of the attempted Yiddish accent than for anything else.
On the better side, one of the singers sounds a bit like Louis Prima, and a couple of the cuts could almost have come from Prima's 40's band.
The band, incidentally, seems to get in the way a lot here - especially when strings are added. Since we are told the Vagabonds are also talented instrumentalists, it would be nice to be able to hear whether they can play.
There is a peculiar sub-genre of music dating from the 50's-60's that is so big, amorphous, and ultimately obscure that no retro fad can ever do more than scratch the surface of it. I'm talking about the stuff that fell through the cracks of musical categorization. The stuff dating from the days when demand for records to play on one's new hi-fi was so great that literally anybody could make a record. The retro-lounge-exotica craze of the middle 90's rediscovered a small part of it, but enough to show that a lot of this stuff was better left undiscovered.
If you are a diehard devotee of undiscovered 50's-era kitsch (I confess to being susceptible to some of it), I can rather tepidly recommend it. But don't buy it if you are a newcomer to the field; you won't know what to make of it.
It may well be that the Vagabonds were a laff riot in person. However, this CD (which, by the way, is only 28 minutes long) does not give the listener any sense of that.