King of Swing

Benny Goodman - King of Swing

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CD Details

Artist: Benny Goodman
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-03-05
Music Label: RCA Victor Europe
Soundtracks:

King Porter Stomp
Sometimes I'm Happy
Swingtime In The Rockies
Bugle Call Rag
It's Been So Long
Peckin'
Sing, Sing, Sing
If Dreams Come True
Roll' Em
Don't Be That Way
Wrappin' It Up
Bach Goes To Town: A Fugue In Swing Temp
And The Angels Sing
Good-Bye

Music reviews of King of Swing

Music Review: The BEST sounding Goodman on CD
Rating: 5 Stars

If you are looking for a good single-disc collection of Benny Goodman's classic period (late '30s), with...
1. pretty new remastering for the best sound possible...
2. made by RCA/BMG (i.e., not a bootleg)...
3. at an affordable price...

...then you have two choices: The Very Best of Benny Goodman and BlueBird's Best- Benny Goodman: King Of Swing. They are both the same price and were newly mastered in 2000 and 2003 respectively.

The basic difference? "Very Best" has unnaturally deep bass. Don't get me wrong, if we had the technology to hear deep bass as it was recorded, then i am ALL for it. Unfortunately, the added bass on this release muddles out much of the bottom end. The drums, bass, and any other deep notes kinda run together. On the other end, the high end is clipped just slightly. It's got that bass beat that i suppose my generation is supposed to like, but since the mid-upper range is flat, it lacks punch.

Now, the "BlueBird's Best" sounds fantastic. The bass is just a tad on the restrained side, but the middle and upper frequencies are clear and defined. It has great punch, and the intruments are more detailed. Essentially, you HEAR MORE of the music. Besides, you can always turn the bass up slightly if you really need that deep bass. But you will NEVER be able to regain the clarity of the middle/upper frequencies by fiddling with your stereo. That clarity is lost on the "Very Best" collection.

Upon further inspection inside, i realized that even though they were released only 3 years apart, and come from the same company, they have totally different restoration engineers. I suppose since the newer one is clearer and more defined, they found good reason to change the mastering technique.

"Very Best" has a few more tracks than "BlueBird", but ALL the "Bluebird" tracks are big band tunes, whereas several on the other disc are with Goodman's Trios & Quartets. Those small groups are fantastic, but wouldn't you rather listen to them on BlueBird's sister album, Legendary Small Groups? (Trust me, they sound better there, too).

I think i've said enough. Listen for yourself and make up your own mind. As i try to collect different classic big band collections, i'm sticking with the BlueBird ones where available....next: Count Basie & Artie Shaw.

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