RECORD REVIEWS Chicago, November 5. 1952
Call”. The records obviously fall into Frankie Laine-Jo Stafford two categories: the songs of the great ***** Piece A-Pudd n’ vaude stars and the records of the great ***** Setting The Woods On Fire singing stars. Some of these sides date back 15 or more years, have been super The dynamic duo should click off an bly re-rtcorded to bring up levels and other winning coupling with this one. build body. It depend» on how nostalgia Puddin’ is a follow-up to Hambone; works on you whether you will be in Wood» is u country item stirred by Hank terested in these leissuei ir not. Chances Williams, the hottest hillbilly in the coun are that a gnat many people will be try Both sides are backed by Paul comt nostalgic. (Drecu DU-1500 through Weston’s country buddiis; Norman Lu- 1507.) hoff’s choir pitches in for the Puddin’ side. Stacks up as a pair of pseudo- RECORD REVIEWS Johnny Desmond rxciting sides that push but don’t swing. Record» in the popular and rhythm-and-bluea sections are reviewed You can smell the juke box coin while *** Stay Where Ion Are they spin. (Columbia 39867.) and rated in term» of broad general appeal- Records in the jazz section ** Nina Never Knew are reviewed and rated in terms of their popular musical merit. Johnny sings the ‘ituffmgs out >f Stay, Peggy ITony Mottola backs John on time River has worn its way. It’s a truly both sides, flashing just a small samp's haunting ballad, a good song, a forceful of his guitar ability on Nina. (Coral Bob Rusnell lyric. And Peggy’s warm, <»0848.) intimate, soulful reading of it is en hanced by one of Jenkin»’ really standout Louis Armstrong # Freddy (Dinky ) Cole Trio The Girl Friends accompaniments, wherein he matches h.s *** i Laughed At Love *** Mama Didn’t Raise No I rasy Kids Didn't love You So sensitivity to thr meaning of the song ***♦ Takes Two To Tango man The Joke Is On Me Say You Love Me and establishes the perfect mood. It’s Love is an amusing coverage of the Nat’s kid brother make«- an encourag It’s been a long time in coming and possible that this effort may l»e u trifle Sunny Gale hit, but the etudi. orchestra ing disc appetizer with this pair of trio now that it’s here, we’d just as soon it above the average listener’s head, but leaves aw) ward gaps and adds nothing sides. He plays ana sings, but particu had remained n theory! Yes, we finally good exploitation could overcome that. to the mood of Satchmo’s voice Mid horn, larly sings, very much like Nat; his ma have a female Ink Spote! Gail Girard Sans Souci is written by Peggy in col appealirg though they are. Tango doesn’t terial is good, and he gets u nice strain does it fair enough female facsimile of laboration with Sonny Burke, is n syn have this handicap; the band is still of humo» running through the beatful Bill Kenny for the lead voice; and an thetic sort of tunc which registers strong- defense of his own sanity. Joke, on the unbilled chick does the narrative against ly on the first hearing because of a pretty dire, but never enough to extin striking arrangement, but grows thinne* guish the sparks emanating from 'ouis, other hand, recalls, both lyrically and in a backline of hurm<>nizing vibratos. mood, a song called This Will Make You The songs are both of the old-timey, with' ' each additional spin. Peggy sings it who really has a ball with these lyrics. of course (Decca 28395.) (Dereu 28394.) Laugh which endeared Nat to many fans neo-barbershop ballad type; neither seem- well, during his embryo Decca days. (Topper to bi of more than minor importance, 20 L> actually are the type that really do grow Art Lowry Georgie Auld on trees. (Coral 60843.) You Darlin' irir Early Autumn Nai “King” Cole Dardandla me You Belong To Me faith Can More Mountains # Neal Hefti-Frances ay A pair f oldies are brought back in More of Georgie’s money-conditioned The Ruby And The Pearl ttO Somebody Loves Me bright dance arrangements, semi-mickey gushy tenorisms set to » par- of day’s This is a powerful commercial coupling Oi Mean To Me -tyle. Staccato ensemble vocalizing adds leading ballads (Autumn is bidding and for Nat! Though records of both songs The Heftis continue to produce first to the juke box lure of Darlin' while Belong has made it) with a vocal assist are already on the market by some top rate dance platters.. Somebody is enjoying Lowry’s sophisticated boogie piano figure from Jud Conlan’s Rhjthmaires. By now line stars, Nat’s magic with a lyric, his revival because of the Betty Hutton movie propels Dardanella, an instrumental. it’s become a formu.a and a proven dollar warmth, and skill should go a long way of the same name. Frances sings both (Columbia 39869.) collector. (Coral 60845.) to make this one of Nat’s biggest records. songs beautifully. Les Baxter backed on Ruby while Nelson Somebody is a particularly appetizing Billy May Riddle lined up the orch-chcru« for Faith. slicing. It’s handled as a slow ballad (Capitol 2230 > with a beat, features Neal doing a really *** Orchids In The Moonlight Clouds fine turn in a short trumpet solo, sort of *★♦ Fat Man Mambo Heat Wave Bobby Hackett-ish with modern overtones. A typical Billy May item, tax slurs Rain Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman. If there’s enough promotion put behind and all, lifted out of his LP, is coupled Let It Smnr Andrews Sisters this record, it could score quite readily. with a competent mambo on which the Blur Skies (Coral 60840.) May effects are conspicuously absent. Just For Pou (Capitol 2227.) IU Wind On The 10:10 from Ten-Ten Tennessee Stormy W rather He’s Just Crasy For Me Eddie Heywood Lost In A Fog I’m Checking My Heart If Dreams Come True # Mitch Miller Zing A Little Zong Perdido haiamason To Iimbnektu By all odds, this is the finest album Maiden Of Guadalupe Stormy H eather The Sea Of The Moon turned out by a dance band this year! I II Si-Si Ya In Bahia Chlo-e Tsena Tsena Tsena And not only is it a grand musical ex Live Oak Tree Memories Of tou Au Revoir Again perience, but it is a plea sine to report Cheek To Cheek Song Of Delilah that it will be a rorumerc id success to Th**ugh studio-made, this amounts to ■ Stompin’ It The Savoy Autumn Leaves boot. soundtrack album of eight of the key songs It’s Easy To Remember Green Sleewt Framed around a packaging id* u titled from the f irthr i»ning Crosby-Wyman flick Album Rating: * Keep Me Ln Mimi "Musical Weather Vane,” the LP fea er, Just For You. The sides have already It'» Easy To Remember is the title of tures eight “weather” turns, most of the made their appearance singly. Collectively this LP, and of '»ne of the tunes in it. Of This a collection of eight of Mitch s titles rather ominous in descriptive value they stack up as pleasant fan with Zona the music, we must regretfully report that singly issued sides, with chorus and though the total result is a delightfully the standout item, mainly on the strength it’s easy to forget. Eddie Heywood, who Frr ch h irns very much prominent. Ac sunny 30 minutes. The arrangements (by of a wonderfully frothy effort by Bing some seven or eight years ago had a pi tually, the most enticing feature of the Skip Martin and Frank Comstock) are and Jane. ano style that was as fresh and attractive set is Mitch’s own oboe and English horn wonderfully economic, there’s not a wast When the picture hits the market, this as that of the little band he led, ha= de playing; he’s spotted himself most liber ed bar in the album. They are the zenith package could easily develop into a top teriorated from style to mannerism, from ally on Moon, Autumn and Delilah. Spot of good taste, are superb for dancing, «elling proposition just on the basis of tie spontaneity to »ynthesis. The best that can ted a« vocalists >>n some of the individual art ideallj designed to allow for a wealth in possibilities with showings of the be said of this collection is that it make- selections are the Pauletto Sisters, Burt of wonderful modern-designed jazz solos flicker. (Derrs DL 5417.) innocuous background music. (MGM LP Taylor and Peter Hanley. by Brown’s excellent collection of musi E135.) The LP liner notes credit Mitch with cians. A id there Kilos are worked into having "brought the French horn into th»' whole so that »ach improisation Curtain Call popular music in a big way.” The author takes on a meaning to the whole, very Ted Lewis should have taken time out to study in much in the manner that the Ellington Columbia’s catalog the work of bari.i soln work used to fit into that *♦ • Acs Mr Baby Smiles 4t Me * Wear A Hat With A Siirrr Lining Claude Thornhill before handing Mitch band's patterns. a bow, though certainly he is entitled to The soloists are uniformly expert Eddie Cantor plenty of bows for many of the other ideas Dave Pell on tenor shin, n, as do Ray he has introduced to the pop record field. Sons on trombone, Geoff Clarkson on (Odumbix CI 6222 ) giano, Jimmy Zito (and possibly Wes Cenael) on trumpet, Tony Rizzi on gui Jimmy Durante # George Shearing tar, and Sal Libero on clarinet It has often been said that Lev Brown is the most underrated of band leaders. It’s perfectly true. Periapt it’s because Sophie Tucker George has found the solution to his Les has built with his bard a precision the-records-all-sound-alike” problem. He machine, and this sort of perfection Some Of These Days now hn« a record iclensed m "George through the years is the sort of thing ** Life Begins At Forty Shearing Quintet” which actually is a that comes to be taken for granted. pair of vocal sides by Teddi King, his Whatever the reason, it’s unfair. Les has Bing Crosby protege with the quintet only taking a a band that can unashamedly and sin I Surrender Dear 16-bar interlude on each side. Teddi cerely be called a great band. This album When The Blue Of The Night Meets «hows promise, though Jeri Southern Whether you luy it to dance to, >r to **♦ The Ruby Ind The Pead tap your toes to, ar to be booted by its *** Forgive And Forget j»ja solos, or to admire the drive and BATTING OUT HITS in more senses than Jeri, despite Cole-Laine-Como eoverage cohesion of the ensemble work, or for Mills Brothers one at present 1« 1« Brown, whose Coral on Ruby, should grab off a small hunk splendid interpreta*., ms splendid Tiger Rag album Musical Weather Pane gets double of action on the song on the strength standard tunes, by all means get this al trait Paper Doll rave from the record review department— of this being the only female version, and bum. It’s really that wonderful! (Coral Decca pruned its catalog to prepare a the tn n musical sharps as well as the five .i genuinely good one it is too. Forgive 56077.) series of re-releases it calls “Curtain stare for i-oniniercial potential. is a current music publisher plug item.
