The Golden Voice of Kate Smith (1991)

Available from mail-order firm the Good Music Record Co., this disc contains no information on the contents, so let's fill it in here. In the fall of 1959, the 52-year-old Kate Smith, well past her prime but still in good voice, recorded five albums for the tiny Tops Records label in a single week. The bulk of this disc -- 19 out of 25 tracks -- consists of material from two of those albums: all ten selections from Kate Smith Sings God Bless America (which is something of a theme record consisting, in addition to the title ... Read More

Available from mail-order firm the Good Music Record Co., this disc contains no information on the contents, so let's fill it in here. In the fall of 1959, the 52-year-old Kate Smith, well past her prime but still in good voice, recorded five albums for the tiny Tops Records label in a single week. The bulk of this disc -- 19 out of 25 tracks -- consists of material from two of those albums: all ten selections from Kate Smith Sings God Bless America (which is something of a theme record consisting, in addition to the title track, of songs with states in their names -- "Carolina Moon," "My Old Kentucky Home," etc.), and nine of the ten selections from Kate Smith Sings Folk Songs, on which she addresses the kind of material popularized earlier in the 1950s by the Weavers -- "On Top of Old Smokey," "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" (albeit in a copy of the 1957 Jimmie Rodgers arrangement on the latter), etc. Also included are five airchecks of uncertain vintage and, probably of dubious legality, a re-recording of her 1931 hit and theme song, "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain," done for Columbia Records in 1941. The essentially random sequencing tends to emphasize the disparate musical styles and differences in sound quality -- the stuff from the first "Tops" LP features typical '50s-style big-band arrangements, the stuff from the second one ersatz folk arrangements, and the airchecks, doubtless from the '40s, have noticeably inferior sound -- making listening a somewhat jarring experience. You do get a generous 68-plus minutes and 25 tracks, but you don't get anything like the best of Kate Smith, which the title seems to promise. (P.O. Box 1935, Ridgely, MD 21681-1935; 1-800-538-4200.) ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi Read Less

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  Wonder Book - Member ABAA/ILAB BEST Frederick, MD, USA

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  Seller's Description: Very Good. Very Good condition. audioCD. Case Good. Case cracked/scuffed. Quality guaranteed! In original artwork/packaging unless otherwise noted.
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