Search - Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers, Bing Crosby, Rod McKuen :: Songs That Won The War, Vol. 4: Home Front { Various Artists }

Big Bands and WW2

Dannan Tavona | Salem, OR USA | 03/20/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First off, the track listing above is incorrect (it seems to be a corrupted listing from "Volume 8, Rosie the Riveter"; this is "Volume 4, The Home Front"). I endeavored to correct it, but the editing only gave me the option to fix the first ten songs. Here is the correct listing.



01 - Accentuate the Postive - Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers

02 - Buy, Buy, Buy Bonds - Bing Crosby

03 - I'll Take Tallulah - Jo Stafford

04 - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - Rod McKuen

05 - A Boy in Khaki, A Girl in Lace - Dinah Shore

06 - There'll Be a Hot Time in the Town of Berlin - Frank Sinatra

07 - (I'm Getting) Corns For My Country - The Andrews Sisters

08 - Milkman Keep Those Bottles Quiet - Kay Kyser, vocal Sully Mason

09 - Sleigh Ride in July - Lena Horne

10 - Manhattan Serenade - Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra, vocal Jo Stafford

11 - The Things We Did Last Summer - Rod McKuen

12 - Vous Qui Passez Sans Me Voir (You, Why Do You Pass Me By) - Jean Elbon

13 - The Deepest Shelter in Town - Florence Desmond

14 - A Fellow on Furlough - Mark Warnow & The Hit Paraders



Like the others in the series, this is a pretty good collection of songs from the war years. I have six albums in this series, and plan on getting the rest.

"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" was recorded by many artists during those years, and Rod McKuen has a nice, soft alto. I like his song "Homeward," too, but that's on "Volume 2, Something to Remember You By." And, if I recall my liner notes, Rod had a hand in the selections for the series. Most of these are out of print now, but you can get the albums dirt cheap from many of the Amazon resellers.

Bing's song is one of the better ones exhorting the war. But, those were indeed darker times. Truth to tell, I often play a WW2 strategy game; I turn off the game's music, and queue up these albums instead. Nothing like storming across north Africa with Frank Sinatra singing "I want to be there, and spread some joy, when they take old Berlin" playing in the background!

Jo Stafford, of course, is one of the cleanest, purest voices from that time period. I fell in love with her voice many years ago, and almost any song she sings is worth listening to.

"Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" is a nice, toe-tapping song, or for the more ambitious, a dancing tune. And, for the naughtier, there is Florence Desmond's song. This is a good mix of songs, and, all in all, I've enjoyed this series very much. Highly recommended."