Search - Bix Beiderbecke :: Bix Beiderbecke Story

Inconsistent sound, over-filtered tracks, good booklet.

Ted Ison | East Coast USA | 02/27/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This budget set seems to be made up largely (or entirely) of material lifted from earlier reissues. I think many of the 'newly remastered' recordings are simply filtered versions of other recordings I already have in my collection. In general, the sound is bland, mid-rangy, over-filtered and lifeless. There is SOOOOO much more sound on these recordings than this release lets us hear. The material itself is great -- basically the Bix everyone wants! The booklet is superb. But sorry -- I can't get around the inferior sound. You get what you pay for."

A Legend In His Short Lifetime

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 07/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm trying in my reviews to tread the roads less travelled, but it would be remiss of me to pass over this 4-CD set, particularly when one of the two reviews it has attracted to date has awarded it but a single star!



If you've never heard a recording by Bix you don't know what you've missed, and if you have you'll never forget it. He was unsurpassed for purity of tone, and his skill transcended mere improvisation, transmuting the most uninspired tunes into melodies of great beauty, seemingly without effort.



This compilation covers his first recordings with the Wolverines, the Sioux City Six, and the Rhythm Jugglers, the best of his recordings with Jean Goldkette and Paul Whiteman, interpolated by those made by studio groups under his own and Frank Trumbauer's name, the two Broadway Bellhops sides, and finishing up with the two Hoagy Carmichael sides.



This was a musician who claimed never to play the same solo twice, but the one thing that's missing is an alternate take or two (and there are many) to show the extent to which Bix's solos altered dramatically from one to the next. But that's a small reservation which does not detract from the impact of the set as a whole.



Individual discs are housed in slipcases, and are accompanied by an extremely detailed 56-page booklet setting out his career and full discographical details. An absolute bargain.

"

Exceptional Value

Michael F. Freer | 10/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is exceptional value - a 4 CD collection with a 56 page illustrated booklet. The re-mastered recordings are comparable to any in my extensive collection of Bix's work. If I were to criticise it would be the cardboard covers to the CDs but at this price I am not going to knock a star off."