The Very Best of Duke Ellington
by: Duke Ellington
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Sales Rank: 39144
Sales Rank: 39144
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Music : The Very Best of Duke Ellington |
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Rating:  - * One of Music's Mount Rushmore Artist ... Duek Ellington was my first introduction to Jazz Music and in truth after him and no offense to anyone else,but his standards of Music and overall Composition, arragements and his Band were set so high that you could forever be lost in his groove and never want to come out. he had a classy flair for playing and a vibe that matched it. "take the A train" was the first cut that got me hooked with him. it's hard to just put all of his best on one disc let alone 5, but this is a strong sampler and a good place to start. he had incredible talent all around him and he made it swing because his music always had that thing. Rating:  - * Sweet Compilation ... An excellent variety of Duke Ellington's music which includes both vocals and instrumentals. While the quality of each recording is not perfect, the imprefections add to the ambience associated with listening to the originals on the radio. Rating:  - * Inconsistency at its finest ... This CDs recordings span 40 years, and that should account for some of the difference in sound quality. However, I have some of these same records in my collection, which sound better and cleaner than the transfers here. "Warm Valley" is particularly disappointing; there is substantial swish and crackle throughout which could have been minimized very easily. Some of the work is wonderful, some is awful. I would expect better from BMG. Rating: - * Poor quality of recordings is distracting ... I sought out this disk as an intro to Duke Ellington's work and to acquire a recording of "Take the 'A' Train." "'A' Train" is without vocals on this disk, which was disappointing for me. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere for a vocal rendition of that piece. ("I Got It Bad...", "Don't You Know...", "Come Sunday" all have excellent vocals on this disk) Also dissapointing is the quality of many of the recordings. Perhaps this is as good as it gets in terms of what survives today. If so, that's a shame. Hiss and scratches are prominent, particularly in "Mood Indigo" and "Creole Rhapsody." Also, many of the solo instruments seem overdriven (I might even say too loud for their respective mixes), causing distortion in the early songs on the disk -- "Warm Valley", "Jack The Bear", and "Rockin' In Rhythm" in particular. In general, sound quality does improve as you get deeper into the CD and encounter the more recent recordings. My Duke Ellington knowledge is limited, but if asked if I would recommend this disk as a way of introduction, I would say no. There must be something better out there. Rating: - * Crackle for ambience, Ellington forever ... There's some slight crackling on this disc, but it's not bad at all, just enough to add some extra ambience to all those freezing winter evenings spent at home on your couch under the toasty glow of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. The recordings on this compilation date from between 1928 and 1966, so the sound quality varies, but it's never annoying. As for the Duke's music, if you ever get tired of "Take The 'A' Train", "Cotton Tail", or "Isfahan", you're nuts. |
