Great Vocalists CD - Import

This Pearl Flapper set does include some pretty fantastic singers, many of them in the most popular performances of their career, but The Great Vocalists is compromised by its attempt to include both European-influenced vocalists in the classical mold as well as the American singers inspired by jazz and more contemporary popular music. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Al Jolson, the Ink Spots, the Andrews Sisters -- all of these great vocal artists are represented, most with the songs that best-characterize their appeal during the '30s and '40s (though, indeed, most aren't their best performances). Much of the rest cycles between second-rank Americans (Tony Martin, the Merry Macs, Connee Boswell, Jo Stafford) with vocalists known best to audiences familiar with British orchestras and the London theater (Al Bowlly, Denny Dennis, Anne Zeigler and Webster Booth, Turner Layton, Anne Shelton, Carl Brisson). It does earn points for including artists who are seldom anthologized, though the sheer number of starched collars and unflinching vibratos will likely drive away fans of vocal jazz. ~ John Bush

For someone looking to brush up on their American popular song collection but not wanting to spend the big bucks on individual albums or discographies, Castle's Great Vocalists should help in that pursuit. An immense ten-disc set, Great Vocalists compiles best-of-esque (this is off a budget label after all) set of tracks from Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, and Doris Day. You get what you pay for here: minimal liner notes, a lack of huge hits (though of course some are included), but for what you pay, it can work as a decent introduction to ten important singers. ~ Marisa Brown

UK budget-price box-set featuring one disc apiece for Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Billie Holiday, Perry Como, Dinah Shore, Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee. Each disc comes in a slipcase and all are housed in a deluxe box. 2001.