Search - Various Artists :: Good Old Summertime

Good Old Summertime
Various Artists
Good Old Summertime
Genres: Special Interest, Pop, Classical, Broadway & Vocalists
 
  •  Track Listings (27) - Disc #1

Vocal Quartets were Very Popular in the Pioneering Early Days of the Gramaphone. Three Quartets Dominated the Era: The Haydn, the American and the Peerless. Between Them, They Notched Up 236 Record Hits! Today They Are Lar...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Various Artists
Title: Good Old Summertime
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Asv Living Era
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 11/21/2006
Genres: Special Interest, Pop, Classical, Broadway & Vocalists
Styles: Nostalgia, Easy Listening, Oldies, Vocal Pop
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 743625562323

Synopsis

Album Details
Vocal Quartets were Very Popular in the Pioneering Early Days of the Gramaphone. Three Quartets Dominated the Era: The Haydn, the American and the Peerless. Between Them, They Notched Up 236 Record Hits! Today They Are Largely Forgotten, Yet So Many of the Songs They Introduced Are Still with Us. "in the Good Old Summertime" Uniquely Showcases this Aural Slice of History. The First Nine Tracks Are by the Haydn Quartet, Including Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet (Top for 11 Weeks) and by the Light of the Silvery Moon (9 Weeks). The Foursome Included Such Individual Stars as Baritone Reinald Werrenrath (50 Solo Hits) and Lead Tenor Harry Macdonough (99 Solo Hits), who was Later Replaced by the Greatest Star of the Age Billy Murray. Murray also Sang Tenor with the American Quartet, Among Whose 10 Hit Tracks Here is the Decade?s Greatest Smash, the Two Million-selling Casey Jones. Members also Included Baritone Steve Porter (13 Solo Hits) and Tenor John Young (10).
 

CD Reviews

A Trip Back in time....
J. Bousard | Anthem, AZ (Phoenix) | 01/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a fascinating CD! As a fan of Quartet singing, this conjures up the original images and sounds---captured amazingly well in recordings....and something I did not know existed....That's what I get for connecting to Amazon.com! It's a clear sound, despite the age of the recordings, and it features a wonderful selection of songs and styles...I highly recommend it for 'buffs' like me....who are always searching for the unusual....thank you.....JB"
Good choice if you yearn for an old-fashioned Fourth of July
Born 75 Years Too Late | Oregon, USA | 08/12/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not much of a summer person, but one thing I do look forward to every year is the Fourth of July. I just wish that I could celebrate one in a different era. I long for the days when families gathered together on the porch of someone's sprawling Queen Anne or Victorian for the day, drinking homemade lemonade, eating fried chicken, potato salad, hamburgers, etc. If you've seen "Meet Me in St. Louis" you'll know what I mean. I want to enjoy the day playing croquet on the vast, shady lawn while well-behaved children quietly play their own games. And I want to stroll over to the gazebo in the park to hear the local barbershop quartet. That's why I bought this. I always play old-time music while I'm in the kitchen all day, prepping potato salad, homemade lemonade, etc.

This CD has a good selection of songs, but I guess I'm just a little disappointed that the songs are the original recordings. Sometimes I like a scratchy original, but there are times I want to hear the songs recorded with up-to-date equipment and mixing methods. I wouldn't say this album is terribly scratchy; in fact considering when they were recorded, the songs are relatively clean. But it lacks the full, rich sound for which I was hoping.

Nevertheless, I recommend it to anyone who longs for this era as I do. By the way, I'm not a crusty, old geezer - yet - I'm just 49. But just like a barbershop quartet song laments, "I was born 75 years too late.""