Nostalgia Music

This is the second entry in the Living Era series from ASV Ltd. of London which first came out in 1996. And although, like all the others in the series, many of the artists will be more familiar to British listeners, there is no denying the consistent quality of both the sound reproduction (remarkable considering these are 76 years old!) and the performances, even if some are unfamiliar to North American audiences.

Take for example, Sweet And Lovely. A # 1 hit for the Gus Arnheim orchestra and vocalist Donald Novis in North America, this version by Al Bowley is superb. And, of course, Al (who died in the Blitz in 1941) is sort of familiar over here as he had three hits, one in 1929 and two in 1935.

For the record, tracks 1 (# 5), 2 (# 3), 3 (# 15), 8 (# 6), 10 (# 1), 12 (# 19 but actually in 1932 for Arthur Tracy), 14 (# 16 - but also in 1932 for Russ Columbo), and 23 (# 4) were the North American hits in this volume.

Among the other 16 there are some notable North American artists involved, such as Ruth Etting on Nevertheless, Lawrence Tibbett on Cuban Love Song, Annette Hanshaw on Would You Like To Take A Walk?, The Revelers on Dancing In The Dark, the great Louis Armstrong on Lazy River, the controversial Paul Robeson on Rocking Chair and River, Stay Way From My Door, and Ozzie Nelson on Dream A Little Dream Of Me. However, while these versions may have been hits in Britain, over here they belonged to, respectively, Jack Denny, Jacques Renard, Rudy Vallee, Bing Crosby, Hoagy Carmichael, The Mills Brothers, Ethel Waters, and Wayne King.

For tracks 5, 7, 11, 13 (the immortal Maurice Chevalier), 15, 21 (Gracie Fields, another well known to North American audiences), and 24 the artists are all either British or more well known over there. The North American hits belonged to, respectively, Don Azpiazu & His Havana Casino Orchestra, Rudy Vallee, Ray Noble (ironic since he WAS British), Nick Lucas, Wayne King, and Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians. The tune Sally, by Gracie Fields, does not appear to have ever been a hit over here.

Rounding out a nice, neat package are 3 pages of informative liner notes written by Peter Dempsey, something you come to expect from CDs originating in the U.K.

Hits of '31 is an excellent album with quite a few songs and over 75 minutes of music that made the airwaves sizzle in 1931. The liner notes have an informative essay by Peter Dempsey. The track list above lists names of lyricists and/or composers; therefore I'll provide you with a list of the actual performers on this CD.

Stardust--Bing Crosby
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone--Gene Austin
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea--Cab Calloway
Rockin' Chair--Paul Robeson
The Peanut Vendor--Ambrose & His Orchestra with Sam Browne
Nevertheless--Ruth Etting
Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries--Hutch
When I Take My Sugar To Tea--The Boswell Sisters
Cuban Love Song--Lawrence Tibbett
Just One More Chance--Bing Crosby
Lady Of Spain--Tino Folgar
Marta--Arthur Tracy
Walkin' My Baby Back Home--Maurice Chevalier
Would You Like To Take A Walk?--Annette Hanshaw
I Don't Know Why--I Just Do
Prisoner Of Love--Russ Columbo
Dancing In The Dark--The Revelers
Sweet And Lovely--Al Bowlly
Lazy River--Louis Armstrong
River Stay 'Way From My Door--Paul Robeson
Sally--Gracie Fields
Dream A Little Dream Of Me--Ozzie Nelson
Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams--Bing Crosby
Goodnight, Sweetheart--George Metaxa

The CD starts strong with Bing Crosby performing "Stardust." The musical intro is brief and when Bing comes in this number takes flight! His youthful voice (remember, this was recorded in 1931) sounds strong; and his excellent diction bolsters his performance all the more. It's heaven! "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" is actually one of my all time favorite songs; Gene Austin sings this with panache and I always enjoy hearing this tune. Gene Austin's interpretation of "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" reflects his talent, too.

"Nevertheless" by Ruth Etting features her squarely front and center; there is surface noise on this track but you will hear Ruth Etting quite clearly anyway. Ruth shines on this tune and the melody is one of the best I've ever heard. The violins enhance the musical arrangement as well. Listen also for "When I Take My Sugar To Tea" by the incomparable Boswell Sisters; this has a very jazzy flavor to it and those Boswell Sisters display their fine ability to switch effortlessly between tempos and keys quite rapidly as they perform this to perfection--and beyond! Excellent!

"Lady Of Spain" has Tino Folgar giving this an operatic touch and after he sings the lesser known opening lyrics you're bound to enjoy this number if this type of music is what you like. "Lady Of Spain" gets the royal treatment from Tino Folgar and his somewhat deep voice also hits some higher notes gracefully. There's also the great Maurice Chevalier singing "Walkin' My Baby Back Home;" this number is easily a major highlight of this CD and Maurice's French accent infuses this tune with a charming quality that I really like a lot.

Louis Armstrong turns in a solid performance with an early rendition of "Lazy River;" his vocals are nothing less than perform and the musical arrangement lacks nothing. Louis plays a little with the tempo of the lyrics and it works well for this tune. Paul Robeson also sounds just fabulous as he sings "River Stay 'Way From My Door;" Paul's strong bass range voice never misses a beat and he performs this with passion and grace. In addition, there's a 1930s type arrangement of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" performed by Ozzie Nelson--it'll knock your socks off! The CD ends nicely with George Metaxa doing "Goodnight, Sweetheart." "Goodnight, Sweetheart" has a little more surface noise than I would have liked but you won't have trouble hearing the lyrics and George massages this tune to make it really stand out, too.

Overall, Hits of '31 is a fine CD that nicely chronicles many of the biggest hits of 1931. I highly recommend this for fans of classic pop vocals; and people who enjoy words and music from the early 1930s will not be disappointed.

Once upon a time there was a fetching comedienne named Marion Harris whose name was well known to vaudeville audiences and record collectors, but it strikes no bells today. This was a serious loss until one of my favorite "bring back the golden oldies" companies, Archeophone, brought out 22 of her recordings on "Marion Harris: the Complete Victor Releases" (ARCH 5001A).


It seems she did not have a very good voice but what she had was just right for songs like "I Ain't Got Nobody Much," "They Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me," "I Wonder Why" (a very early Jerome Kern show tune), and "When Alexander Takes His Ragtime Band to France." What made her really interesting is that she was possibly the first white female performer to popularize songs and lyrics written by black artists such as Henry Creamer and J. Turner Layton.


As is true with many of the Archeophone compilations of music recorded at this time, there is some "racially derogatory language." What is one to make of a line that says a black will be a hero in wartime because his color will not run? This was meant as a high compliment-but is of course an embarrassment today. Still, as Archeophone said about an earlier release, we cannot ignore the sins of the past if it means suppressing historical material such as that on this CD. I would like to hear your comments on this subject.


The booklet is loaded with all sorts of background material and photographs about the singer and the songs, including "Victor Supplements," printed comments that the Victor company included with the original discs. Fascinating.

I agree with the previous review.
I wish Ms. Cook would re-visit some of her old stuff,
most especially "The Music Man". I grew up listening to that cast album, and then seeing the movie, with Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. Shirley did a wonderful job, mind, but she just didn't have the purity of Barbara's voice. And Shirley apparently could not handle "My White Knight".
My big wish is to contact Ms. Cook, because I have a question to ask about "The Music Man"...having read Meredith Willson's book, "But He Doesn't Know the Territory!" The book details Mr. Willson's long struggle to get "The Music Man" to Broadway, and goes into some detail about a counterpoint song, sung on the footbridge, to "My White Knight" that was cut from the show.
My dad an I spent many years trying to figure out how the 2 songs went together, and, as neither of us could play an instrument, we had a lot of trouble. My dad died about the same time as Meredith Willson, and Robert Preston died soon thereafter, so we never found out. I wonder if Barbara Cook still knows how the 2 songs go? Do you, Ms, Cook?

I really like this CD. Performed by a former Broadway Actress, by the name of Barbara Cook. She started off her career on Broadway as Marian Paroo in "The Music Man." Then she retired from Broadway and became a terrific singer, which she still is into her 70's. I really like her version of A Wonderful Guy. I wish she would re-record some songs from "The Music Man," on her next CD.

In her Carnegie Hall concert of November, 1998, Miss Barbara Cook sang a medley of songs from "She Loves Me," a musical in which she starred on Broadway in the early '60's. I wished she would rerecord these beautiful songs. There was so much more depth and maturity in her singing nearly 40 years later. Soon thereafter, DRG released "All I Ask of You," which did indeed include these gems. In fact, many of the songs on this cd are also on her Carnegie Hall album of 1975. Listen to the differences in "Glad Rag Doll" and the songs from "She Loves Me." Her handling of the high "b" at the end of "Ice Cream" is more focused and precise than ever before. And the way she wraps her lovely soprano around the last note in both "In Buddy's Eyes" and "Somewhere" is worth the price of the CD. This chanteuse knows how to interpret both ballads and uptempo numbers with equal effect. The fact that she knows how to choose a musical director (Wally Harper) doesn't hurt either. Not bad for a lady in her 70's.

Barbara Cook's singing is one of the great wonders of the world of music. This CD is another stellar addition to her very impressive body of work in the `90's. She also chooses her partners better than any other singer - the arrangements and orchestrations by Wally Harper and Peter Matz are just perfect for her and for the songs. It's hard to pick a favorite - All I Ask of You is beautiful, Wonderful Guy is delightful, the She Loves Me medley is marvelous anew after all these years, I Wonder What Became of Me is poignant but not maudlin, and We'll Be Together Again is entrancingly lovely. I also love the combination of New Sun in the Sky and On A Clear Day - my only quibble is that the orchestration is better suited for a live performance. (It is stunning when done live). Overall, another disc that I will listen to repeatedly and enjoy and enjoy. Barbara Cook never gives us less than her best, and at 71 her best is still THE best. What a treasure....

Another beautiful piece of work from this one-time Broadway ingenue, whose voice only gets better with time. I especially liked some lesser-known songs from Broadway, such as The Very Next Man (Fiorello); In Buddy's Eyes (Follies) and a medley from She Loves Me. The orchestrations by Peter Matz are rich, complex, and totally unexpected. In short, a must for any Barbara Cook fan, and anobody who appreciates the Broadway show song.

Seger Ellis began his professional music career in his native Texas as a jazz pianist playing with local dance bands. He was discovered by talent scouts from Victor on a recording field trip to Houston in early 1925 and made several test sides as a soloist (which were rejected, but later re-made and issued). Encouraged by the positive response to his records, he moved to New York to pursue a solo career. Once there, record executives at OKeh discovered that he also possessed a pleasant "crooning" voice and they engaged him to make records that sounded somewhat like those of Gene Austin, Art Gilham, and Nick Lucas. However, Ellis's recordings have the added benefit of OKeh's superior recording system and all-star jazz musicians for accompaniment. Just a few of the sidemen on this disc: Louis Armstrong, Eddie Lang, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Joe Venuti, Rube Bloom, Phil Napoleon, Manny Klein, Muggsy Spanier, Hoagy Carmichael, George Hamilton Green, Arthur Schutt, Carl Kress, and Andy Sannella. Most of the recordings feature a small combo of three to five backing musicians, and in all cases they work so well together! This is gently swinging "sweet" jazz--but jazz all the same! Ellis was quite popular in the late 1920s, but unfortunately, his recordings have been rather neglected in the years since. Many thanks to the late George Morrow of The Old Masters for resurrecting these 26 sides. There are some great tunes in here: "Sweet Sue," "Mean To Me," "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Cheerful Little Earful,"--heck, they're all great! Perhaps my favorite on the disc is the haunting and beautiful "Nobody But You." The remastered sound is very nice, and the booklet features a complete discography for the included selections and lengthy (and informative) notes by Allan Dodge. This is an excellent CD--one I play often--and I'm surprised no one else has reviewed it yet. I have all of the thirty-some CDs issued by the Old Masters label, and it's safe to say that this is one of my favorites. If you like early '30s Bing Crosby, Russ Columbo, Gene Austin, check it out! You won't be disappointed. Ellis's voice may not be quite on par with Crosby or Columbo, but I find it very pleasant and the tasteful jazz accompaniments just add to the charm. Highly recommended!