Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 3, No. 11 (1929-08)

394 The Phonograph Monthly Review August, 1929 Ford Movements in My Hips, the latter with grand shouting in the chorus (S700) ; Sam Lanin’s Famous Players in quiet but rather monotonous performances of When My Dreams Come True and This Heaven (41257) ; and—from the In- ternational list—Paul Tiessen’s Orchestra in highly amplified perfomances of Black Eyes and Shadows of the Past, both with much piano and accordion work (3534.) The Victor list has no really outstanding winner this month, but the first rank includes some good works by Kenin, Arnheim, and Goldkette. Herman Kenin offers three of Sophie Tucker’s hits: He’s a Good Man to Have Around and I’m the Last of the Red Hot Mammas (22005), and I’m Doing What I’m Doing for Love (22016). All are com- bined smoothness with sprightliness. On the other side of 222016 Gus Arnheim has a very nice version of I’m Feather- ing a Nest. Arnheim is also heard in Singin’ in the Rain coupled with Shilkret’s Your Mother and Mine on 22012. Goldkette’s offering is 22027, Painting the Clouds With Sunshine and Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips With Me, both of which are infinitely better than their titles. Goldkette’s performances have a fine big surge, lots of sonority, and genuine animation. A very effective and danceable record. Slim Lamar —in the Southern series—plays good versions of Nancy and I’ve Got a Brand New Gal that are somewhat marred by over-prominence of the steady banjo beat (V-40093) ; Ohman and Arden’s Orchestra is rather heavy but still vigorous in hits from “The Little Show,” Or What Have You and I’ve Made a Habit of You (22017); Boyd Senter is very shrill but ingenious in Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief, and I’m in the Jailhouse Now (22010). Among the other Victors are Shilkret with his usual mis- cellany, the best of which is When We Get Together in the Moonlight (22023), an interesting arrangement and a rather hot performance. Waring’s Pennsylvanians provide a fair coupling, To Be in Love. The other Shilkret per- formances are The Lonesome Road and Susianna (21996), Nobody But You (coupled with Waring’s rather colorless Orange Blossom Time on (21997), Am I Blue? and Let Me Have My Dream (22004) ; Broadway Baby Dolls and Wish- ing and Waiting for Love (22019), and the Your Mother and Mine on 22012 mentioned earlier. Rudy Vallee brings up the rear with a colorless coupling of S’posin’ and The One in the World (21998). The Columbia dance releases is a long one and contains several first rate disks. In the first rank I should mention Ben Selvin’s catchy, highly . danceable performances of Junior and Miss You (1875-D) ; Larry Siry— a new name to me—in sprightly, attractive versions of Peace of Mind and Finding the Long Way Home (1855-D) ; the Ipana-Trouba- dours in an energetic There Was Nothing Else To Do and catchy Glimpse of Paradise (1881-D); Clarence Williams in one of the best of his many fine releases, 144434-D, a vibrant, sonorous In Our Cottage of Love and a magnifi- cently strutting cakewalk, Them Things Got Me; Sonny Greer’s Memphis Men (Duke Ellington’s Orchestra) in Sat- urday Night Function and Beggars Blues (1868-D) that hardly rank with Ellington’s best, despite a noteworthy piano solo in the latter piece; and two characteristically good Ted Lewis disks, 1882-D and 1854-D. The former record couples two hits with Ted’s forthcoming talking pic- ture “Is Everybody Happy,” I’m the Medicine Man for the Blues and Wouldn’t It Be Wonderful. The orchestra’s obbligatos to Ted’s singing is particularly effective in the first-named piece. However the vividly contrasted coup- ling on 1854-D is more striking and deserves to rank with his best. Maybe—Who Knows? is highly nostalgic and Walkin’ Around in a Dream lively and infectious. Among the other Columbias are Lombardo’s Royal Cana- dians in ultra-songful and sweetly sonorous versions of This is Heaven and Here We Are (1867-D) ; Paul White- man in turgid, undistinguished performances of Laughing Marionette and S’posin’ on 1862-D, and Little Pal and Seventh Heaven on 1877-D; Davie Bernie in rather dull versions of those nature studies, I Want to Meander in the Meadow and The Bab-Bab-Babbling Brook (1874-D) ; Harry Reser’s Syncopators very collegiate in The Whoopee Hat Parade and The Flippity Flop (1884-D—note the good instrumental and vocal wa-wa work) ; Fred Rich in very powerfully recorded versions of Used to You and Why Can’t You (1878-D); and the Mason-Dixon Orchestra mak- ing an auspicious debut in What a Day! and Alabamy Snow (1861-D). An old and a new orchestra share honors among the many Brunswick winners. Red Nichols and his Five Pen- nies display their old resilient vivacity in Dinah and Indiana on 4373, their best record in many months. The newcomer is George Belshaw and his K. F. A. B. Orchestra of Lincoln, Nebraska, who turn in sparkling performances of Sweet Liza and You’ll Recognize My Baby; the begin- ning of the former piece is particularly effective (4365). Hal Kemp does well—as always—with When My Dreams Come True and To Be In Love (4388). Herbert Gordon offers very individual versions of Canoe-oodle Along and Jericho; angular but curiously effective, and with much fiddle work. His Sw*eet Seventeen and Reaching for Some- one (4394) are only fair, however. The Cotton Pickers turn in a fine record in 4404, My Sugar is Back in Town and Sweet Ida Joy. The playing is sprightly and piquant and the vocal chorus of the second piece is excellent. Ben Bernie is as interesting as ever in Here We Are and Please Let Me Dream in Your Arms (4385). Special praise goes to the celesta solo in the latter and the neat instrumental dia- logue work just after the vocal chorus of the former. Roy Ingraham does well with a peppy Me and the Clock and That’s Living (4366). The fiddle, wa-wa, and piano work are outstanding. The Colonial Club has a very danceable but powerfully recorded coupling of This Is Heaven and Es- pecially You on 4351; Earl Burtnett has a good Low Down Rhythm on 4376 and a pleasing coupling of Singing in the Rain and Orange Blossom Time on 4375, but his Gotta Feelin’ For You (on the other side of 4376) is less striking. For the rest, A1 Goodman has a good Yours Sincerely, coupled with the Colonial Club’s My Heart Is Bluer Than Your Eyes (4364), marred by the vocal chorusing; Roger Wolfe Kahn, now a Brunswick artist, does a delightful job with Heigh Ho!, but is less effective in Pretty Little Thing (4374); Meyer Davis is decidedly colorless in Sorrows and Do Something (4411) ; the Regent Club and the Castlewood Marimba Band are both fair in their respective versions of Evangeline and Wonderful You (4379); Bob Haring’s performance of S’posin is not particularly distinguished and the Colonial Club’s You and I in the Moonlight is rather monotonous (4382); Harold Stern does mildly well with Sunrise to Sunset coupled with Arnold Johnson’s smooth Tear Drops (4251) ; Roy Fox has a good Melody Man and Nobody’s Fault (4384); the Regent Club plays Sleepy Val- ley and My Dear Waltzes (4370) ; and the Castlewood Ma- rimba Band has a sentimental coupling of Little Love Canoe and When You Come to the End of the Day Waltzes (4403). —Rufus. Foreign Records International. Columbia 12108-F, Sannella’s Perfume of Roses and I’ll See You Thru’ has previously been reviewed among the Dance Records. The other Columbia Interna- tional is 59055-F, Come to My Arms and Palace of Love Waltzes, played by Don Avlon’s Orchestra. For Odeon Paul Tiessen’s Orchestra plays very sonorous version of Black Eyes and Shadows of the Past on 3534. Among the Victors, Toti Dal Monte’s arias from La figlia del Reg- gimento are reviewed elsewhere under “Vocal,” and the International Novelty Orchestra’s Dollar Princess Medley is reviewed elsewhere under “Light Orchestral.” Marek Weber plays two very smooth tangos, I Kiss Your Hand Madame and Twilight, on V-14; the International Novelty Orchestra plays Only With You and Night Owls Waltzes on V-13; and the National Military Band gives fair per- formances of the Gladiator’s Farewell and the Bells of Saint Malo, V-12. Arabic-Syrian. Columbia is alone with oud solos by Prince Mohiuddin on 25-X, and popular songs by Habib D. Nackkouzey, tenor, on 50010-X. Bohemian. Odeon offers dances by the Velky Ceski and Ceska Tanecni Hudba orchestras on 17353 and 17355 respec-