Big Bands Of The Swinging Years - Various Artists

Advantages: Great live act.
Disadvantages: Don't play enough gigs

...93Feet have been doing the rounds on the small gig tour for the lasst year and I hope you have been lucky enough to catch them live. Currently in the studio recording material, this band are already being spied on by various record company scouts and are getting a good reputation. Their style is funky guitar, pounding beats - a mish mash of funk soul acid jazz. Guitar player Harvey is extremely apt at what he loves doing and gives a great performance. Drummer JJ looks insane while he's playing but doesn't miss a beat. Singer Craig can croon with the best of them. The band have hit some high profile venues - once even playing at the Groucho Club in London to an impressed audience. You'll find them in the Milton Keynes area, and about Bedfordshire at the moment but catch them before they are signed. This band is the next big thing - make... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Rare recordings, variety of songs, professional act
Disadvantages: Naff cover, silly album sleeve notes

...-75p), remember this was pre-decimalisation days. The records might have been cheap but the performances certainly weren't. The chances of a music enthusiast buying these albums was pretty slim as it didn't feature the original artist, if I had been around in those days I would have probably given these albums a miss for that very reason. There was pressure from the established record companies & in within a couple of years these types of albums eventually came to an end replaced by the various artists' albums from K-Tel & Arcade. However, the 'cover albums' were popular with older music buyers on a tight budget & were ideal for those Saturday night parties were popular music was more important than the artist singing it. Having said all that, I do have four of these original albums in my collection, two LPs (pictured) & two EPs, which I... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Excellent arrangements, brilliant musicianship
Disadvantages: A couple of weak links - often the latin ones

...Big Bad Voodoo Daddy arguably started the swing revival of the 1990s after their cameo appearance in the excellent film "Swingers". Playing in their local club, the swing band performed the self-penned "You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three" as Vince Vaughan and co. knocked back cocktails and tried to get off with Heather Graham. This album is more than just a collection of witty songs given the swing treatment. Underpinning it is a true understanding of swing and jive arrangements, backed up by the youth and recklessness of the band. It's also particularly good to hear the excellent production that has been performed on this album, as too often the best music of this type was recorded onto tape during the 1940s! The album begins with the band's arrangement of "Boogie Bumper", an up-tempo and all-instrumental straight swing tune... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful