Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1926-10)

THE PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY REVIEW 41 651-D 11i-I )iddle-Diddle, and Happy-Go-Lucky Days (from “Topsy and Eva”). Good burlesque, well put across by Ethel and Dorothea Ponce. G26-D I'd Climb the Highest Mountain if 1 knew I’d find You; and Say it Again. Done by Art Gillham, the whispering pianist. I do not like whispering pianists. 633-D But 1 do—You Know I Do, and Lonesome and Sorry. Sung by Ruth Etting. (il l I) It’s too Late to be Sorry Now, and In Your Green Hat. (Art Gillham). I re- peat: I do not like whispering pianists. The second number is particularly suited to Gillham’s style, and he does it well. (i 11-1) Almost Persuaded, and Softly and Ten- derly, Anthony and Harrison, accompa- nied by violin, ’cello, and organ. Beware of this suspicious combination of instru- ments! This particular record tempts me to profanity. 6*30-D Let’s Grow Old Together, and The Pris- oner’s Sweetheart. Sung by Frnnklyn Baur (joined by Helen Clark in the first). The record sent me for review had both sides labelled with the first title. 6*25-1) Honey Mine, and Georgianna. By the Singing Sophomores. A record that al- most over-balances the things I have had to say about some of the other Columbia records. This quartet is a splendid or- ganization, and I am almost tempted to give them the palm over the Revelers. At least they run a very close second. 655-D Hokum-Smokum, and Oo-long’s in Wrong In Hong-Kong Now. (The Record Boys) The Title word hokum is well chosen. 657- 1) It Don’t Do Nothing But Rain, and He Ain’t Done Right by Nell. The Whisper- ing pianist again. 610-1) Good Night and Good Morning, sung by Homer A. Rodeheaver; and (), the Bitter Shame and Sorrow, sung by Rodeheaver and Doris Doe. 618-1) Cossack Love Song, and Song of the Flame. Sung by Tessa Kosta and the Russian Art Choir. This record is another oasis in a summer’s output musically very dry. I say this even though I can imagine better recording, and a little surer intona- tion by Miss Kosta. But the music is charming, and the orchestration colorful. Miss Kosta has, withal, a nice voice. The choir sings well, but not so well as in a record issued some time ago, (Col. 581-D), where you may hear marvellous choral singing. 658- 1.) Keep a’ Inchin’ Along, and Shout All over God’s Heaven. Sung by Fisk University Singers. I liked this record much better on second hearing than at first. It is al- most perfect singing of negro spirituals, and almost perfect recording in the second number. The first one is marred just a bit by one or two shrill spots. Yet this is one of the few records not to be missed. 612- 1) At Peace with the World, and Whisper- ing Trees. Sung by Franklyn Baur. 664-D Oh Girls! What a Boy, and Learning How to Love. Sung by Edith Clifford, an entertainer with “personality”. Her diction is excellent. 613- 1) I Found a Round-a-Bout Way to Heaven, and Spanish Shawl. Sung by Blossom Seeley. The two piano accompaniment is very good. A soft needle is advisable on the second side. 633-1) Could I? I Certainly Could, and So is Your Old Lady. Very well rendered by Ruth Etting, another singer with “person- ality”. 529-1) Don’t Let me Stand in Your way, and Bam Bam Bamy Shore. The Whispering Pianist. The height of inanity is reached in this record. Brunswick 10245 Do not Go, My Love; and To My Bride. Sung by Lauritz Melchior, with violin ob- ligato by Fredric Fradkin. The first song is pleasingly sentimental and well written, as well as well sung for the most part. I like Melchior’s voice, but he has to struggle with his high tones, and he often suggests that he is more of a baritone than a tenor. Fradkin’s playing is bet- ter here than in his solo records listed below. The second side is not so good. It is by all means worth while having a record of Melchior’s. 10246 l’se Gwine back to Dixie, and Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane. Sung by Florence Easton with Male trio. An unsatisfactory record. The interpretations are mediocre • and the singing and recording not good. The orchestral accompaniment lacks roundness. 10253 Elegie (Massenet) and Angel’s Serenade (Braga). Sung by Elizabeth Rethberg, With a violin obligato on both sides by Max Rosen. It would take a super-genius to lend any interest in Massenet’s hack- neyed song. Even so, the fault must largely rest on the artist who chooses such things, or permits them to be foisted on her. As to the second side, that is really more a violin solo with voice obligato than the other way around. Mr. Rosen plays with a lovely tone, not very broad, but of unusual sweetness. 13154 How d’y do, Mis’ Springtime, and Mali Lindy Lou. Sung by the Merrymakers. Just ordinary quartet singing in the first, and better in the second. The recording is good. 3215 Hard-to-Get Gertie, and Y r a Gotta Know How to Love. Sung by Esther Walker. 3219 What! No Spinach, and Waffles. Sung by Ed Smalle. 3116 Standing in the Need of Prayer, and I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray. Masket Shrine Quartet. This quartet apparently puts the “spirit” in spiritual. The second side goes off rather better than the first. 3222 When the Red, Red, Robin comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along; and Here I Am. In which A1 Jolson “does his stuff”. 3127 Song of The Volga Boatmen, and Goin’ Home (Dvorak-Fisher). Brunswick Con- cert Orchestra with Male Chorus.. Neither the orchestra nor the chorus rises above respectable mediocrity. 3221 Valencia, and Tell me You Love me. Sung by Franklyn Baur. CHORAL Victor 35776 Sylvia, and Autumn Sea. Sung by the Associated Glee Clubs of America. Fair singing, as choruses go. Was a twelve- inch record needed for recording these two songs? It seems they might have been crowded on to a ten-inch one. Brunswick 3225 Kyrie; and, Sanctus and Benedictus (from Mass of the Angies, attributed to St. Dun- stan). Sung by a chorus of 30,000 chil- dren’s voices at the Eucharistic Congress in Chicago. This record constitutes an epoch in recording, first because of the number of voices recorded, and second because of conditions of recording — an open stadium, with no possibility for correction and repe- tition.