Search - Fats Waller :: Of the Complete Recorded Works 1938-40 5

Fats lives

Lawrence Miller | Pineville, NC United States | 09/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This whole series has somehow managed to do what the thousands of other earlier Waller releases have not managed to do: Get the music juice out of the grooves. All CDs in this series are almost what used to be called hi-fi though releases to date reach only to 1938, long before the advent of hi-fi (never mind stereo).



My favorite, on one of the earlier collections of four CDs in this series, is "Serenade for a Wealthy Widow." You hear licks, notes, background fills, that were never before audible. That made that tune brand-new again. But that happens to most of the recordings in this series.



The only negative I have is that while a group of four CDs may have various takes, recorded on a given day, of the same tune, they are separated. That makes listening more fun for the non-aficionado of Fats Waller, but less so for people like me. Oh well.



Recommended without reservation."