The CD title makes it very clear what to expect
from this release, the latest in Guild's huge and continuing 'Golden
Age of Light Music' series, which features pieces from an era when "the
boundaries between light music and dance bands became somewhat blurred".
Incredibly, the label has now released over a hundred CDs under this
rubric, all of which are listed in the back of the accompanying booklet.
Whether or not each and every one of these can be said to be part of
that Golden Age is debatable. Some of the recordings have seemed more
Bronze Age than anything, and others might as well have been issued
by a company called Gild. Moreover, as books can sometimes be judged
by their covers, so CDs by their titles: 'Strings and Things Go Stereo!',
'A Trip to the Library', 'Mantovani - by Special Request, vol.2' and
'Melodies for the Starlight Hours' are typical of anonymous commercial
compilations rather than the catalogues of serious, high-quality labels
like Guild.
Furthermore, when ensembles have names like 'Alfredo Campoli and His
Salon Orchestra', 'Reginald Pursglove and His Music Makers', the 'International
Novelty Orchestra' and even "unnamed orchestra", musical expectations
should not be high. In that respect 'Salon, Light and Novelty Orchestras'
does
not disappoint. Nonetheless, within their own realm, these orchestras
had good reputations and their performances are professional and polished.
The music itself is what it is - predictable, glutinous, derivative
- and in combination with the sound quality - see below - would not
be out of place as the soundtrack to a pre-talkies Laurel and Hardy
or Mickey Mouse short; the later ones, an Ealing comedy. Yet thanks
to its tunefulness, rhythmic certainties and above all its nostalgic
properties, this music is unarguably attractive to certain demographics,
above all those that grew up listening to it.
Even those who enjoy this kind of thing should take note that these
are antediluvian analogue recordings in mono, all taken from the private
collections of two individuals. On the other hand, engineers can sometimes
work wonders on items of this vintage, and, whilst the generally hissy,
narrow-band sound experience offers no actual miracles, there is no
denying either that quite a remarkable restoration job has been done
by Alan Bunting for Guild. In some cases he has even managed to fashion
a sense of true stereo.
The booklet notes provide plenty of information on the various band
leaders, cuttings from an old scrapbook bandying names and places from
a bygone age. The track-listing supplies original catalogue IDs for
those who may be inspired to head off to rummage through independent
record store basement bins or charity shops.
Byzantion
Contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
Full track-listing:
a Fairy On The Clock (Sherman Myers) [2:31]
b* La Petite Tonkinoise (My Chin Chin Lou) (Vincent Scotto and Henry
Christine) [2:08]
c Parade Of The Pirates (John W. Bratton) [2:59]
b Neapolitan Serenade (Gerhard Winkler) [2:54]
d** Magic Notes (Fritz Steininger) [3:07]
b Tango Habanera (Jose F. Payan, arr. Fred Hartley) [3:31]
e Intermezzo (Souvenir de Vienne) (Heinz Provost) [3:22]
f Secrets Of The Adige - Waltz (Felice Carena) [2:44]
g Grasshoppers’ Holiday (Herman Bick) [2:52]
a Finesse (Bernard Maltin and Anthony Raymond Doll) [2:37]
h A Birthday Serenade (Paul Lincke) [3:09]
c Rose Mousse (Fabrice Gabriel Lemon) [3:13]
i If You But Knew (Reginald King) [2:54]
j Hiawatha - Cake Walk (Neil Moret) [2:41]
k The Wedding Of The Rose (Leon Jessel, arr. Willoughby) [3:04]
l Fairy Whispers (Rhode) [3:25]
m The Cuckoo In The Clock (Walter R. Collins) [2:39]
n The Excuse Me Waltz (Nicholas Brodszky) [3:00]
o Fiddle Dance (Percy Fletcher) [2:52]
b The Dancing Doll (Eduard Poldini) [2:55]
b The Butterfly - Morceau Characteristique (Theo Bendix) [3:06]
l Dolls’ Games (Lederer) [3:01]
f Sphinx Waltz (Francis Popy) [3:13]
i Dark Red Roses (Philip Braham) [3:06]
c King Chanticleer (Seymour Brown and Nat D. Ayer) [2:40]
* Ronald Gourlay (whistler)
** Rudy Starita (xylophone)
a New Mayfair Dance Orchestra / Ray Noble
b Alfredo Campoli Salon Orchestra / Alfredo Campoli
c International Novelty Orchestra (m Quartet)
d
unnamed orchestra
e Jay Wilbur's Serenaders
f Orchestra Mascotte
g Louis Voss Grand Orchestra
h London Palladium Orchestra / Richard Crean
i Reginald King Orchestra / Reginald King
j Alfredo Campoli Novelty Orchestra / Alfredo Campoli
k J H Squire Celeste Octet
l Victor Ricardo Orchestra / Victor Ricardo
m International Novelty Quartet
n Reginald Pursglove Music Makers / Reginald Pursglove
o Albert Sandler Orchestra / Albert Sandler
