|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Playing it for when we put out the ashes.... Jul 02, 2010
My husband passed away and was a marine thru and thru and I thought he would like this music played when he died so it will be. Perfect
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
No better single cd of this music available...even 50 years later! Sep 06, 2009
Felix Slatkin, of Hollywood String Quartet fame, was leader of the U.S. Air Corps Band in Santa Ana,
CA during WW II. He was well-known as an excellent conductor (studied with Fritz Reiner at Curtis)
and made many fine recordings as part of the Capitol Records Classical staff. He died in 1963.
In 1958 he gathered seventy of the best players, many WW II veterans and Hollywood studio musicians,
including 11 percussionists, and made this blockbuster classic. This remains in my personal top 10
concert band recordings. Among those who know this music well, it is legendary! This is not just
some "un-named" band...it is a bunch of the best pros around, many of whom had this music in their blood far more than some of the "name" bands other reviewers have mentioned.
Yes, the sound is not all you can get with modern recording, but the spirit, enthusiasm and joy leaps right out at you. These are great players who love this music and it still sounds fresh
over a half-century later....just the drum cadences between selections are worth the price of admission! The short 39 minute length is definitely a choice of quality over quantity in this case.
Certainly, there are many wonderful band recordings, I cite especially the U.S. Marine Band, Fennell's Eastman Wind Ensemble, and Dallas Wind Ensemble, but this is as good a single all around "starter" cd as you can find if you aren't an expert and want this type of music. You will probably seek out more excellent concert band music once you have heard this rousing cd!
Martial music of the highest order Apr 26, 2009
Despite being over 50 years old (recorded in 1958), Felix Slatkin and the Concert Arts Symphonic Band's recording of U.S. military and patriotic music is still among the very best I've ever heard, mostly because of the obvious energy and enthusiasm so clearly apparent in the playing captured in collections of recordings. The musicians and conductor took these anthems to heart, and in their performances on this CD it truly shows.
Despite my 5-star assessment, the disc is not total perfection; given the years, it's readily apparent to my ears that the original recording masters weren't in the best physical shape when this CD was created, and in this era of stereo and multi-channel sonic wonders having to step back to the antiquity of an almost seemingly monophonic musical recording--either via the microphone setup, or through how the original mastering was done--can be somewhat disconcerting to the modern listener unacquainted with such early recordings (though not unusual for recordings of the era, or for the Concert Arts Orchestra).
But step away from the obvious technical limitations of this recording session(s), and the exuberance of the arrangements and performances with each song in this set will certainly astound and fill you with patriotic pride. In many ways it's a lot like watching (and listening to) a Hollywood movie made in the immediate days and years following World War 2, when America was still flush with pride and confidence after defeating the Axis powers in that bitterly fought conflict. Considering the Concert Arts Orchestra--the umbrella group that the Concert Arts Symphonic Band was a part of--was originally an L.A.-based ensemble, it's probably not much of a stretch to surmise that many of these musicians actually played on any number of contemporary Hollywood film scores from this era, particularly since many of them played in multiple groups and orchestras around Los Angeles, including any number of movie studio bands and orchestras.
In the end, the playing is so superbly confident and proud, as is the musical scoring that, despite the technical flaws with the original master material, it's truly a gem of a set that should not be missed by anyone who loves and enjoys patriotic and/or martial music. Highly recommended for the mid-20th century buff, and ANYONE who bleeds Red, White & Blue.
Energy and excitement Aug 23, 2007
This cd captures all the energy and excitement of military marching bands that so excites us. As you listen; you can visualize the precision and force of the rows and rows of the marchers with their instruments.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Marching along May 12, 2007
I am a walker..(up to 15 miles per week) Having made this purchase... I now march along with Sousa and the other greats on this fine album....I heartily recommend it to all....as well as Amazon's timely and fairly priced services...
|
| | |
