Jazz
Sweet Bands
Recorded: Sep 1958, Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, California
Ralph Flanagan & His Orchestra were residents at the Palladium in Hollywood throughout the '50s, and this Collectors' Choice compilation reissues a radio show recorded there in September 1958. The band's sweet renditions of "Apple Blossom Time," "Up a Lazy River," and a special Gershwin medley are competent to say the least, though the musty sound quality is a big caveat. Things only get worse when vocalist Jean McManus takes a solo on "All of Me" -- before she finds the mic a minute into the song, it sounds as though she's out in the alley behind the theater. It does come complete with original announcements, and isn't a bad budget purchase for nostalgia fans: It certainly sounds upwards of 50 years old.
---John Bush, allmusic |
