Greatest Hits

Greatest Hits Artist: Artie Shaw
Label: RCA
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio Cassette


UPC: 090266849444
EAN: 0090266849444
ASIN: B000003G2S


Release Date: 1996-04-16

Related Categories:

General General
Related | Jazz | Styles | Music
Swing General Swing General
Related | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General General
Related | Pop | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Begin the Beguine
  2. Stardust
  3. I Cover the Waterfront
  4. Comes Love
  5. Deep Purple
  6. Moonglow
  7. Any Old Time
  8. Frenesi
  9. Lover, Come Back to Me
  10. To a Broadway Rose
  11. Indian Love Call
  12. Temptation
  13. Oh, Lady Be Good
  14. St. Louis Blues

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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The greatest jazz clarinettist of the 20th Century.......2005-06-07

What more can I say. My late father(an accomplished player of the clarinet and saxophone during the 1930's - 1950's) and a devoted protege of Artie Shaw had the great privilege of meeting him personally when he toured down the east coast of Australia during the Second World War with his U.S. Navy Band in October 1943 in Brisbane, Queensland. This CD has represented to me, the music which I heard constantly played during my childhood and which I became in turn an ardent fan of the unique style, expression and feeling of the music of this masterful technician of the clarinet. His recent passing has made this CD an almost daily playing favourite of mine. I don't think we will see another like the great Artie Shaw.

4 out of 5 stars Great swing! A good compilation...but there are better ones!.......2004-03-22

This compilation, from the RCA Victor "budget jazz" line, contains fourteen tracks of music by master swing clarinetist and big band leader Artie Shaw. Shaw, a consummate musician with no taste for the `business' side of the music business (he kept disbanding his orchestras at the height of their popularity whenever he felt artistically compromised), was one of greatest and most vital musicians of the swing era, and the pieces here show him at his best with two of his big bands.

However, this compilation is weaker than some of the others on the market right now. "Begin the Beguine" from the Bluebird Treasury Series and "The Very Best of Artie Shaw," also from RCA Victor, are longer collections with a better survey of Shaw's music, and cost comparatively only a bit more. Most of the important tracks on this album ("Begin the Beguine," "Frenesi," and "Oh! Lady Be Good") are also on these collections, plus they have a greater selection of music from some of Artie Shaw's more unusual bands, such as the small group The Gramercy Five. These albums are better deals than what you'll find here.

But still, you can't really go TOO wrong with this album; the music is simply too good. The majority of the tracks come from Shaw's most popular big band, the one he formed in 1938 and disbanded in late 1939. He had previously formed a band in 1936 using a string quartet as part of the ensemble, but this band failed to catch anybody's attention (none of these recordings are on this CD -- or the other two that I mentioned). But the 1938-39 band was a sensation, and Shaw knocked Benny Goodman off the `King of Swing' throne for a brief time. The pieces on here from this era are: "Begin the Beguine" (Shaw's most well-known number, and a masterpiece of romantic swing), "Comes Love" (with a great vocal by Shaw's most popular female vocalist, Helen Forrest), "Deep Purple" (another vocal from Helen Forrest), "Any Old Time" (the only recording the band made with Billie Holiday during her brief tenure as their singer), "Indian Love Call" (a wonderful swing interpretation of this usually slow ballad, with a great scat vocal from saxophonist Tony Pastor), "Oh! Lady Be Good" (a superb, hard swinging number!), and a live version of "St. Louis Blues" (another big band swinger, from the venerable W. C. Handy blues tune).

The rest of the tracks come from Shaw's orchestra of 1940-41, a huge band of 22 musicians which made extensive use of a string section. This band never swung as hard as the first (honestly, I personally never liked the strings), but turned out some very good pieces. The best are "Temptation" and "Frenesi," both huge sellers and good swing dance numbers. "Stardust" and "Moonglow" are pretty ballad instrumentals (Shaw also recorded these numbers with the '38-'39 band) and show off Shaw's great clarinet technique. "To a Broadway Rose" seems to start as a `sweet n' pretty' number, but turns into a really joyous and jumpin' swing piece. Only "I Cover the Waterfront" and "Lover, Come Back to Me" are disappointing -- the only minor tracks on this album.

But even considering the quality of the music on this CD, you'll still get a better deal on most of the same music, plus much more, with the compilations "Begin the Beguine" and "The Very Best of Artie Shaw."

4 out of 5 stars Artie Swing.......2003-09-13

This cd provides you with all the basic Shaw hits, the real treat here is the powerful and dark rendition of St Louis Blues,
this is a live recording from the 1939 band and is a perfect show-piece for Shaw and the band - this number alone is worth the price

5 out of 5 stars This newcomer to the big band sound loves it.......2003-07-08

I just started to enjoy the big band sound from the 1930's and 1940's recently. This is one of my first purchases and it is helping make me a big band big fan.
Artie Shaw was just a name to me for most of my life. Now it is a name that evokes great sounds. I love his clarinet, his musical arrangements and his band's style.
It alternatively makes me want to dance, tap my feet or just listen.
This CD has inspired me to look into other of his works and other Big Bands. I'm glad I made this part of my burgeoning Big Band collection.

5 out of 5 stars Artie, you were the greatest!.......2003-02-23

I take exception with another reviewer who prefers Benny Goodman. Artie Shaw was the greatest Clarinet Player of all times. His recordings of Begin the Beguine and my favorite "Love of my Life, featuring Anita Boyer" are simply magnificent. Speaking of arrangers,the work of Jerry Gray and Artie Shaw is legendary and needs no futher commentary.

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