Search - Glenn Miller :: The Centennial Collection (with bonus DVD)

Glenn is still the GREATEST!!

Robert Badgley | London,Ontario,Canada | 12/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD set not so much for the song content but for the included DVD.Neither disappointed me.

This isn't your usual "greatest hits" package but an unusual compilation of tunes culled from his studio,live and AAF band catalogues.Along with his better known studio numbers such as "In the Mood" and "String of Pearls" we have included here "Along the Sante Fe Trail" and "When you wish upon a Star" which you don't see/hear often.

There are three live numbers included,all billed as "previously unreleased".All these tunes HAVE been released just not on the RCA label.But they are well restored.

There is one AAF number "Begin the Beguine" sung wonderfully by Tony Martin.

The last tune is a remix of Pennsylvannia 6-5000 by British hip-hop myster Theo Keating,aka Wiseguys.

All of the above have been remastered in 24 bit digital sound and are quite a revelation to hear.The sound is very clean and crisp.

The accompanying DVD is a marvellous addition to this set.It includes among other things the "Chattanooga Choo Choo" number from Sun Valley Serenade,a few clips from a TV show in the early 60s featuring Ray McKinley and Johnnny Desmond and some very rare footage of Glenns' AAF band in England during a war bond rally at which Gen.Jimmy Doolittle was in attendance.The DVD only runs around 35 minutes and certainly leaves one hankering for more but I really liked what I saw.

As a 100th anniversary release this collection does leave alot to be desired as some previous reviewers have stated.What COULD have been included or released boggles the mind as RCA continues to sit on their collective backsides year after year releasing pitiful dribs and drabs of rare material that sits for the most part collecting dust in their storage facilities,especially Glenns'live material and his AAF recordings.

Having said that however my rating and review in all fairness must be based soley on the material at hand and the quality of its' presentation.And that is my basis for the 4 star rating.

For the first time or new listener to Glenns' music this is a great starter and introduction to the greatest big band and leader of the 20th century.If your a dyed-in-the-wool fan like myself then while(musically) there may be really nothing new under the sun for you the big attraction here is the remastered 24 bit sound AND the accompanying DVD.You'll be pleasantly surprised and I'm sure make a special place for this in your collection."

An okay best-of which holds out great promise

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 04/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This may not be perfect, but it's still a pretty cool set -- one swell CD's worth of Miller's best, including several live tracks recorded at the height of the band's fame. In addition, this new best-of also includes -- get this -- an extra DVD of video material as well! Admittedly, this video bonus could have been more glamorous... There's only one full cut of Miller and his band playing in their prime (taken from the 1941 film, "Sun Valley Serenade"), while the other clips include TV appearances by later editions of the band, filmed years after Miller's untimely death, as well as old movie trailers, 'Fifties advertisements for the first Miller LPs on RCA, and -- most intriguing -- vintage footage of the Miller Orchestra pepping up the troops at a War Bond rally in England, as well as some heartwarmingly informal home movies shot on tour by Miller's bass player back in the band's heyday. I'm sure licensing all the sexiest Miller material is hard, but it still would have been nice to see more material from, say, the 1942 film "Orchestra Wives" (which had a plot that revolved around the Miller Orchestra, and in which the man himself has several speaking parts), some more concert footage, or even something from the documentary America's Musical Hero (which was produced by BMG, after all!) However, despite its shortcomings, the DVD is in itself an indication that the major labels are coming to see that multimedia packages -- with both music and video -- may be an added incentive for an info-savvy public that wants to feel it's getting its money's worth... Let's hope they go on to do similar, bigger, better projects for other artists soon! And that they come back to Miller and throw in a ton more archival material... We'll be here, eager and willing to snap it up!"

BMG could have celebrated better.

Robert Badgley | 05/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I also agree with the previous reviewers. This was such a missed opportunity. They could of at least done what they did with the recent Artie Shaw box set and the Duke Ellington multi-disc retrospective several years ago where his entire RCA catalogue was remastered and a fitting tribute. Instead we get the usual dribs and drabs of new things and the same basic Miller songs while the rare gems stay in vaults.I am giving this 5 stars for one reason only, the magnificent remastering of Doug Pomeroy from the original metal parts. In the Mood is at the correct pitch for the first time since the original 78's and the noise reduction doesn't muddy out the low passages. The sonics are far superior here - nothing sounds tinny or distorted. Mr. Pomeroy has mastered historically important jazz works for Mosaic and other labels and was responsible for Young Blue Eyes: The Birth of a Crooner, the incredible recent release of live Dorsey-Sinatra recordings. Pomeroy gets the 5 stars - BMG gets the back of my hand!"