Swingtime Swing Era Various Arts

I can't believe some people don't love this. It swings good for me, and the sound quality is beautiful, as well as the orchestras performing on the CD. They are not the originals, but man they sound fantastic to me. The musicianship on this CD is mamazing!!!

I WAS VERY SATISFIED WITH THE PRODUCT AS WELL AS THE DELIVERY TIME THANKS AGAIN

OMG !!!! these are little more than Muzak versions of Swingtime classics!!! YIPES!!!!!

I bought all 15 LP sets of the original Time-Life "The Swing Era" back in 1975. The recordings are "note-for-note" recreations of the original 30s and 40s arrangements re-recorded in the 1950s by Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra; or, a studio band of big band veteran musicians put together by Billy May in the late 1960s. Time-Life mailed out a 7" floppy 33 1/3 disc as part of the marketing to sell the series--I fell for it. The Swing Era series was a noble effort; but, it was very uneven. Overall the modern recordings lack the "lift" or "swing" of the original 78 RPM recordings--it's just very hard to recapture the "sound" or "punch" of the original recordings. I suspect Time-Life took a conservative approach and told Billy May, a veteran of the Glenn Miller orchestra, to make the recordings commercially appealing to as wide an audience as possible. That's why people complain, in part, about the "elevator" style sound of the music. But, there are moments. The modern version of Bob Crosby's theme, "Summertime," and Benny Goodman's "Lullaby in Rhythm" come to mind as really good recordings that compare favorably with the originals. There are some others, but overall it is a pretty "vanilla" collection. However, when this came out in the 1950s and 60s, there were still plenty of people who had heard the original big bands in person back in the 30s and 40s. So, I get the idea of trying to put them "back in the moment" so to speak. Now, anyone who would have heard the original big bands between 1935-1945 are dead or in their late 90s. So, for a new generation of big band fans, this Time-Life collection gives them a rough approximation of what the original bands sounded like. There are other orchestras, such as the Tom Cunningham Orchestra, that have done a better job capturing the swing, lift, and punch of the original sound. So, while nothing will compare with the original 30s and 40s recordings, overall these Time-Life CD sets are worth owning if you're a serious collector or aren't too picky about the level of swing. There are better alternatives to getting modern or up-to-date recordings of the great music of the Big Band or Swing Era; frankly, the best era in American music.

1-1 Take The "A" Train (Duke Ellington Version)1-2 Little Brown Jug (Glenn Miller Version)1-3 Ja-Da (Tommy Dorsey Version)1-4 Tuxedo Junction (Glenn Miller Version)1-5 Ciribiribin (Harry James Version)1-6 One O'Clock Jump (Count Basie Version)1-7 My Blue Heaven (Jimmie Lunceford Version)1-8 Sing, Sing, Sing (Parts 1 & 2) (Benny Goodman Version)1-9 A String Of Pearls (Glenn Miller Version)1-10 No Name Jive (Parts 1 & 2) (Glen Gray Version)1-11 In The Mood (Glenn Miller Version)1-12 Frenesi (Artie Shaw Version)1-13 Chattanooga Choo Choo (Glenn Miller Version)1-14 Jersey Bounce (Benny Goodman Version)1-15 Casa Loma Stomp (Glen Gray Version)1-16 Stompin' At The Savoy (Benny Goodman Version)2-1 Let's Dance (Benny Goodman Version)2-2 April In Paris (Count Basie Version)2-3 Pennsylvania 6-5000 (Glenn Miller Version)2-4 Northwest Passage (Woody Herman Version)2-5 Blues In The Night (Parts 1 & 2) (Jimmie Lunceford Version)2-6 Moten Swing (Andy Kirk Version)2-7 Boogie Woogie (Tommy Dorsey Version)2-8 Satin Doll (Duke Ellington Version)2-9 And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine (Stan Kenton Version)2-10 Air Mail Special (Benny Goodman Version)2-11 Straighten Up And Fly Right (Nat King Cole Version)2-12 Drumboogie (Gene Krupa Version)2-13 I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo (Glenn Miller Version)2-14 Hamp's Boogie Woogie (Lionel Hampton Version)

Almost none of these songs are the originals. They are very tepid, elevator music, remakes, which do not swing at all. The liner notes explain that many of the original musicians were brought together to try to recreate the original sound and magic, using modern recording equipment. In my opinion, this did not work out. Don't waste any money on this or the Swingtime II CD set. Do some research and buy the originals. Their audio quality may not be up to modern standards, but the feeling is there, and that is all that matters.