Boswell Sisters: Where to start?
Gregory Bailey
Boswell Sisters' best work. I have found available for purchase four
possibilities:
1. The Boswell Sisters Collection Vol. 1 from Collector's Choice, which has
a 5-star rating from All-Music Guide.
2. Everybody Loves My Baby from Pro Arte, which also has a 5-star rating.
3. That's How Rhythm Was Born from Columbia/Legacy.
4. L'Art Vocal Vol. 13, La Selection 1930-36 from L'Art Vocal.
If anyone has any of these and can give me some reviews, ratings, direction,
etc., I'd appreciate it. I'm looking for the best combination of sound
quality (All-Music Guide was particularly high on the Pro Arte CD's sound
quality) and the quality and completeness of the track lists.
Thanks,
Greg Bailey
Michael Laprarie
Choice and Sony/Columbia Legacy. Columbia seems to be good at remastering
either from metal parts or mint 78's and their CEDAR sound reprocessing is
as good as anything I've heard. The track selection on the Columbia CD also
looks like a good and fairly complete overview of their best 30's output
recorded for Brunswick and Vocalion.
I own the release entitled "It's You", on the British "Flapper" label.
While the music selection is first-rate, I would classify the sound as
sub-standard.
BTW, if you have access to the alt.binaries.sounds.78rpm-era Usenet group,
"MonkeyBoy" just posted dozens of Boswell Sisters and Connee Boswell tracks
during the last two weeks. If your ISP has long retention of binary NG
posts, you might want to look up some of their stuff there.
In my humble opinion, the Boswells were the best of the best of the girl
singing groups of that era. I guess it's that whole New Orleans thing...
Mike
Gregory Bailey <grg...@peoplepc.com> wrote in message
news:tsvg1d7...@corp.supernews.com...
Mitchell Kaufman
> I'm looking for recommendations for a good single-CD collection of the
> Boswell Sisters' best work. I have found available for purchase four
> possibilities:
>
> 1. The Boswell Sisters Collection Vol. 1 from Collector's Choice, which
has
> a 5-star rating from All-Music Guide.
Not sure which disc this is: there are two single discs put out by CC, which
are simply called "The Boswell Sisters" Volumes 1 and 2. The "Boswell
Sisters Collection" discs are put out by the Danish Storyville label, and
they're up to volume 4 (scheduled to be released on October 30).
The CC discs are fine, but the Storyvilles have six to eight more tracks per
disc (the CCs have only 15 per CD) and will serve as a complete issue of the
Boswells when it's completed.
If you know you already want all the recordings, the choice is clear.
One caveat: if you're willing to wait, there's always the possibility that
JSP will put out a Boswell box set as they did with the Mills Brothers. (I
believe there are Storyville single disc equivalents of the JSP Mills
Brothers discs--Storyville is a decidedly more expensive alternative in this
case. BTW, if you don't already own the JSP Mills box, it's one of the great
bargains in the catalog.)
> 2. Everybody Loves My Baby from Pro Arte, which also has a 5-star rating.
Sorry, don't know this one.
> 3. That's How Rhythm Was Born from Columbia/Legacy.
The best single disc introduction to the Boswells; excellent transfers and a
representative selection, though inevitably a few classics are missing.
> 4. L'Art Vocal Vol. 13, La Selection 1930-36 from L'Art Vocal.
Not bad, but if it's between this and the Columbia for a single disc
collection, I'd go with the Columbia. The sound here is generally inferior
to the Columbia.
> If anyone has any of these and can give me some reviews, ratings,
direction,
> etc., I'd appreciate it. I'm looking for the best combination of sound
> quality (All-Music Guide was particularly high on the Pro Arte CD's sound
> quality) and the quality and completeness of the track lists.
For a single-disc alternative, the Columbia; if you want to collect 'em all,
right now it's the Storyville discs.
MK
Chris Albertson
grg...@peoplepc.com wrote on 10/19/01 1:51 AM:
The following might be of interest to you. It is a new release in this
series on the Nostalgia Arts label (Storyville--Denmark):
The Boswell Sisters Collection, Vol. 5
Martha Boswell vocal & piano, Constance & Helvetia Boswell vocal, Dorsey
Brothers Orchestra, Jimmie Grier & His Orchestra, Artie Shaw - clarinet
O.K. America / Coffee In The Morning / Alexanderąs Ragtime Band / The
Darktown Struttersą Ball / Donąt Let Your Love Go Wrong / Why Donąt You
Practice What You Preach? / If I Had A Million Dollars / The Object of My
Affection / Itąs Written All Over Your Face / Dinah / Way Back Home / Every
Little Moment / Traveliną All Alone / St. Louis Blues / Fare The Well,
Annabelle / Lullaby of Broadway / Top Hat, White Tie & Tails / Cheek To
Cheek / Iąm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter / The Music Goes
ŚRound & Around / Let Yourself Go / Iąm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket
Chris Albertson