We planned on having a roaring 20s party and playing a lot of
Charleston Era music. The cd was exactly what we expected and wanted.
August 4, 2007 |  | Find out what made the "Happy Feet" so happy |  |
I can't really add anything that the other reviewers haven't touched on will just reiterate that these are all fun, upbeat, toe tapping good songs. Pop in the CD, drink some gin from tea cup and find out what made the Twenties roar.
February 10, 2007 I love the 1920s. I am a kid, but I love it. I have been watching musicals ever since I saw Singin' in the Rain, and I worked my way up from the the 1960s musicals to the the earliest silents of the very late 1800s. But I find that my favorite era is the 1920s. I love the music, movies, clothes, art-deco style, just everything about the 20s. My friends think I am crazy for choosing to listen to Annette Shaw over Beyonce, but they respect my opinion. Even my grandma does not like this stuff!! This music is older than her. This is an AH-MAZING CD. The music is so nostalgic and beautiful. It just takes you back. Back to images of slick-haired men in tuxedos with tails dancing the shag with bob-haired flappers in fringed drop waist gowns, images of prohibition, a sleek silent movie with Rudolph Valentino or Gloria Swanson, fast roadsters, Broadway shows like Good News or No, No Nanette, or the great Ziegfeld Follies. Like I said, the music was just so nostalgic and beautiful that I cried when I listened to the song "Charleston". It was a lovely reminder of one of the greatest decades in the history of the world. Jazz music today is so blah and it has no personality. The 1920s tinny jazz sound is real, RED-HOT JAZZ! This CD really captures the 20s, because the real stuff is the best, not like the movie Chicago, which is okay but does not have real 20s glory like a 20s silent like the Affairs of Anatol. This CD is swell (pardon the old-timey slang) the sound is not static, the music recordings are superb, the price is great, and it's just all nice. My favorite songs are "Charleston", "Everything is Hotsy-Totsy Now", "Charleston Charley", and "Pasadena". Two other good ASV label CDs of 20s music are Runnin' Wild, and Chart-Toppers of the Twenties. Yay! :)
January 28, 2007I love the the 1920s. Most kids today like me like rap and stuff, but not me. No, I have always loved the tinny jazz sound of the 1920s. My friends do not know why I like old-fashioned 1920s stuff, though they respect my opinion, and they would rather listen to Beyonce. And there is no better CD than this one to take you back to the magical era of flappers, sheiks, and Prohibition. I loved it. All the music does not sound static at all, it is beautifully restored. I cried when I listened to the song "Charleston". It was just so nostalgic and beautiful. It really made me think of the era of this music. Thinking of men in tuxedos dancing the Charleston or Shag with flappers in ornate art-deco dresses, champange, elegant silent movies like The Affairs of Anatol. I love this CD, I found it better than Chart Toppers of the 20s, and my favorite tracks on it are Charleston, Everything is Hotsy-Totsy Now, and Pasadena. I also reccomend the Runnin' Wild ASV label CD of 1920s music. Yay!
January 26, 2007The Charleston originated in the southern USA at the beginning of the 20th Century. Based on African rhythms, the dance became very popular around 1913 and stayed in vogue right through most of the Roaring Twenties. Like the hip flash, bobbed hair and raccoon coats, the Charleston has remained synonymous with that era.
Electrical recording techniques were introduced in 1925 by COLUMBIA records, so we have the benefit of improved frequency range on the majority of the tracks presented on THE CHARLESTON ERA.
Scanning the playlist, its clear to any afficionado of the hot jazz era that most of these songs were very popular back in the day. I can't say the same however for the versions chosen here. Where are the California Ramblers, Ben Selvin, the Cliquot Club Eskimos, Ted Lewis, Leo Reisman and so many others?
I've given only four stars then for the decision or inability to present (in my opinion) the better versions of songs like "Don't Bring Lulu" (Jones & Hare) or "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune" (either California Ramblers or Irving Aaronson), to name just two.
Regardless, THE CHARLESTON ERA is a decent collection of songs heard on dance floors everywhere in the party years preceding the Great Depression. For those new to this music, its a good place to start, and for fans, here's a chance to experience alternate examples of the big 1920s hits you already know and love.
December 19, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(22 reviews)