#0009
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Though I'm not really big on swing, this is a bit more towards the kind of jazz I enjoy. This feels a lot more thought out than a lot of the other swing I have heard, and also has something more interesting to offer rhythmically than a lot of the swing I have previously encountered. It still falls victim to some of the things that I don't quite like about swing (most notably how dated it sounds), but just not nearly as badly as the usual swing album or track will.
Overall the record sounds really nice and the last track on here is just a beautiful composition. It's good background music but not a whole lot more.
#0008
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I guess Buddy Holly does have good stage presence, but most of this is just too dated for me to really get into. "An Empty Cup" was really nice but a lot of music in this style is just too middle of the road to really provide any real any enjoyment for me other than a mere glance into the past. If they had done a little more with songwriting then maybe this would be a bit more compelling, but the thing is, this record just kind of provides a caricature of what the 50's were supposed to be like based on every movie anyone's ever seen of the era, not a real accurate look into the days of yore like a lot of the best music of that 50s era did.
#0007
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The second Sinatra album on this list is his follow up to In The Wee Small Hours, and despite having some killer singles, doesn't quite reach to the heights its predecessor hit. However, it still proves that Sinatra was great even when he wasn't sad, and kind of upset my expectations. His sad bastard stuff is usually the stuff everyone loves and his happier, Christmas-ier stuff is seen as kind of lame, but it still manages to sound great, if a bit dated. This album is pretty great and I could see myself listening to this again or a few more times.
Weirdly, despite a lot of the oversaturation Sinatra gets around Christmas time with singles like "You Make Me Feel So Young", the songs themselves are still unavoidably uplifting and I can get why he was such an acclaimed singer. Fuck this thing is so sweet. I definitely recommend it.
#0006
I guess swing just isn't really my thing. While the solos on here are really nice for the most part (as are most of the instrumentals), it just doesn't interest me. I love my jazz, don't get me wrong, but I find swing usually to be a tad mundane and kind of tedious to listen to for long periods, which applies to this album. Duke Ellington is a man I have a ton of respect for, but I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed this album more than just a little bit. Though I'm not very familiar with his work, Money Jungle is much much better than this, IMO.
#0005
This is looking like another pretty fun 50's R&B/jazz album, similar to that Louis Prima record. It's upbeat, catchy, fun, and the melodies on here are, if a tad generic, still really great. Though This is Fats comes off as pretty dated, it still never ceases to be a fun little record. If you ever want to have some good old fashioned fun around town with your friends, this should be the soundtrack.
#0004
This is some of the most fun stuff I think I've ever heard. I can just imagine being around at the time and popping this on a record player and going nuts. Honestly pretty sure this thing invented the banger. My favorites here are probably "Jump, Jive, An' Wail", "Buona Sera", and "Basin Street Blues/When It's Sleepy Down South".
Musically this is some classic swing jazz, with Prima's hugely energetic and charismatic vocal refrain dotting these well played instrumentals with some flares of character and fun. I can definitely see myself playing this at work.
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#0003
This really isn't something I have a strong opinion of. I enjoy traditional American folk music to some extent and this country record is no exception. There are some great harmonies on here and the guitar/mandolin playing is all good. But in all honesty this seems to function more as background music than as something I'd go out of my way to listen to. Sonically this is really nice but for a 36 minute record it gets a tad boring after a while. Still this is something I'd recommend if you want some nice music for a road trip through Appalachia, especially the song "In the Pines".
