 |  | Great sound if you don't mind the reverb |  |
I'm with the other reviewers here: Dinah was among the best and most "listenable" female vocalists of the 1940s, and this CD presents a delightful mixture of well-known and obscure Dinah recordings. The sound is quite wonderful, rich and full-sounding with almost no audible surface noise--HOWEVER, purists will want to know that a trace amount of reverb has been added, so when listening on headphones, Dinah's vocals "bounce around" a little more than they should. The effect is not as noticeable on loudspeakers. Fortunately, the reverb is subtle and should not be considered a major flaw. And reverb aside, this is one of the best-sounding Dinah compilations I've heard. "Buttons and Bows" has never sounded so good! Recommended.
February 20, 2006 | | Quality music from a great singer | |
There were many great female singers around in the 1940's but Dinah Shore was certainly one of the best as well as one of the most successful. This particular compilation begins with five early recordings from 1941 and 1942. The two 1941 tracks mean that the 1942 in the title is incorrect. The remainder of the songs were all recorded in 1946 or 1947 except the final track, which is from 1948.
The music here is of an extremely high quality and the re-mastering does justice to it. One other thing to note is that this is not a greatest hits package. Some hits are included, but if you want to collect Dinah's hits, you can find more of the Columbia hits on 16 most requested songs and its companion 16 most requested songs Encore. As I write this, the best RCA hits collection is the Taragon compilation Essential RCA recordings. I've already reviewed all three of those collections.
Among the Columbia hits included here are Buttons and bows, Shoo fly pie and apple pan dowdy, The gypsy, Doin' what comes naturally, Laughing on the outside, You keep coming back like a song and I love you for sentimental reasons. The Columbia hits omitted from this collection include Dear hearts and gentle people, Baby it's cold outside, Anniversary song, You do and I wish I didn't love you so. All these were huge American hits and it seems odd that they were omitted, but the quality of the other songs here is such that their omission doesn't really matter.
Outstanding performances of classic songs were a trademark of Dinah Shore - just listen to her singing Come rain or come shine, Georgia on my mind, Tea for two, My romance and the closing Always true to you in my fashion. Many of the recordings here are not available anywhere else. In the case of those that are, the standard of re-mastering on this collection makes it particularly desirable. Despite the absence of so many big hits, this collection provides a great introduction to the music of Dinah Shore. December 14, 2003
| | | Wonderful Dinah Sounding Wonderful! | |
This is a top-notch Dinah Shore 2 CD set. But the issue is not merely one of quantity: the remastering job was done well! You can hear Dinah clearly as though she were recording digitally.
The selection of songs is also great, mellow, and well arranged. "Georgia On My Mind" is worth the price of the set. If you like Dinah, you won't be disappointed with this one! March 2, 2001
| | | The BEST Dinah out there! | |
Here's 100 stars to DUTTON Labs. from England, who gives Dinah the treatment that she DESERVES! Truly outstanding remastering AT LAST! Dinah's voice had at least a hundred shadings, making her voice as hard to remaster as an opera great! Here is FINALLY is in its glorious splendor, from the most loud spunky gal around the block, to that innocent baby-doll coo! "Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy" has NEVER sounded better, and has become a staple at my house; everybody keeps requesting it! AND this remastering makes Dinah's "Shoo-shoo-fly pie" stand out, like it should! Buttons and Bows NEVER sounded so great, and I have the TIME-LIFE version, full of scratches and NO attention given at all to the voice.THANK YOU Michael Dutton, who has remastered this INCREDIBLE 2-CD set of over 50 songs, and not forgetting us flip-side lovers as well. To have "Ask Anyone Who Knows" and the flip "Pappa Don't Preach to Me" is incredible! The only small complaint, is that is does not tell us which recordings are from RCA and Columbia. Also no chart information. However this small detail can ALL be easily overlooked once you've HEARD the collection. It puts ALL the others to shame. I notice that Dutton Labs. has a release with the Nat king Cole trio, and Gene Krupa. I'm gonna get one, NOW that I know how GREAT the finished product is. Last, but not least, thanks to the RCA and Columbia people for releasing their originals, to the ONE who could do them MORE than justice! GRAB this before it goes out of print. You will be forever sorry if you don't!
July 5, 2000More reviews at Amazon.com ...
