[.ca] Boswell Sisters Collection, Vol. 4: 1932-1934

Very influential, but not the mothers of rock'n'roll:
The Boswell sisters, although largely unknown these days, were an enormous influence on many singers of the forties and fifties, including other sister groups like the Andrews sisters and solo singers like Ella Fitzgerald. Their sound was jazz based, like much music of the era. They were capable of many different types of song - they could swing but they could also sing romantic love songs. On this, the fourth of an excellent five-CD series of their music, there is a song called Rock and roll, which was a #7 hit for them in 1934. While it is an excellent upbeat song that swings at a good pace, it is some way removed from the music of the fifties that we now know as rock'n'roll. Nevertheless, there are those who acclaim the Boswells as the mothers of rock'n'roll on the strength of their music in general and this song in particular. Much as I love their music, I think not. For reasons that are not obvious to me, some tracks appear on more than one volume in the series. For example, four of the tracks here (Coffee in the morning, If I had a million dollars, The object of my affection and Dinah) also appear on Volume 5, which I've already reviewed. From the information supplied, I do not think they are different recordings. Still, there are so many songs on each volume that the duplication does not matter, except if they are played back-to-back. Apart from songs already mentioned, there is one other hit here - You oughta be in pictures, which peaked at #17 in 1934. The remaining songs are all wonderful, including covers of two Duke Ellington songs, Sophisticated lady and Mood indigo. While this is an excellent collection, it is not the most important volume in the series. I collected volumes 1, 3 and 5 in this series first, because nearly all the important songs are in those CD's. I enjoyed them so much that I bought volumes 2 and 4 not long afterwards. They are less important, but equally brilliant.

* GREAT VOLUME OF THE HOT NEW ORLEANS HARMONISTS *:
This is disc four in the excellent five-disc series from Storyville/Nostalgia Arts, and it features many classic examples of the Boswell Sister's unique artistry. As always there are stunning and significant contributions from the usual suspects, (the Dorseys, Bunny Berigan, Benny Goodman, Manny Klein, Eddie Lang), as well as cameos by the Mills Brothers and Red Nichols. More than half of the tunes feature the fine piano work of sister Martha, and the jumpy Puttin' It On was written by the sisters themselves. There are two Ellington compositions here, Mood Indigo, which features a clever interpolation of a classic blues form, and a stunningly performed Sophisticated Lady, the first version to feature lyrics. There are four tunes penned by the team of Dubin-Warren, Forty-Second Street (a hot jazz masterpiece), a hoppin' The Gold Digger's Song, Song Of Surrender, and Coffee In The Morning, which is all sugared up by Connie's gorgeous lead vocal. Sleep Come On And Take Me is a jittery up-tempo number about an insomniac lover. That's How Rhythm Was Born is one of the Boswell's very finest, a bayou-drenched rave-up with scalding instrumental solos. Dinah features the virtuoso playing of guitarist Bobby Sherwood, as the Boswells travel with ease from sweet and slow to hot and swinging. Rock And Roll and The Object Of My Affection are the Boswells at their charming up-tempo best, and Goin' Home and Lonesome Road are spare, bluesy numbers which spotlight the sisters' otherworldly harmonizing. Aside from many other great tunes, this volume features a detailed and fascinating 8-page essay which tells of the Boswell Sisters' very earliest experiences in music, right up to the cusp of their major success (the essay continues in volume five). This is a great collection dealing with a group which, quite frankly, is without parallel.

• Calfirnia Medle, Pt.2 - The Boswell Sisters
• O.K. America, Pt.2 - The Boswell Sisters
• We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye - Martha Boswell
• Sleep, Come on and Take Me - Martha Boswell
• Down Among the Sheltering Palms - Martha Boswell
• Mood Indigo - Martha Boswell
• Forty-Second Street - Martha Boswell
• Gold Digeers' Song - Martha Boswell
• It's Sunda Down in Caroline - Martha Boswell
• Puttin' It On - Martha Boswell
• Swanee Mammy - Martha Boswell
• Sophisticated Lady - Martha Boswell
• That's How Rhythm Was Bornwhiting/Schwartz/Johnson - Martha Boswell
• Song of Surrender - Martha Boswell
• Coffee in the Morning, Kisses in the Night - Martha Boswell
• You Oughta Be in Pictures - The Boswell Sisters
• I Hate Myself (For Being So Mean to You) - The Boswell Sisters
• Goin' Home - The Boswell Sisters
• Lonesome Road - The Boswell Sisters
• Rock and Roll - The Boswell Sisters
• If I Had a Million Dollars - The Boswell Sisters
• Object of My Affection - The Boswell Sisters
• It's Written All Over Your Face - The Boswell Sisters
• Dinah 3:00 - The Boswell Sisters