Editorial review from Amazon.com
The 41 tracks on this two-CD set all date from an eight-month period between April and November of 1936, but Waller was brilliant as well as prolific and the quality of his piano playing never lets up. He's accompanied throughout by his regular sidemen: trumpeter Herman Autrey, Gene Sedric on clarinet and tenor sax, guitarist Al Casey, and bassist Charles Turner. Drummer Yank Porter is replaced by Slick Jones in midcourse, but there's no loss of bounce to the band Waller called His Rhythm. There's a special delight in the all-instrumental (though Waller does talk) session of June 8, including a take on Bach called "Bach Up to Me." Waller was a great songwriter, but the only song of his to appear in these recordings in the infectious "I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby." It doesn't really matter, though, because Waller manages to sing other people's songs--like "Christopher Columbus" and "Hallelujah! Things Look Rosy Now"--in a way that sounds as if he made them up on the spot. While Waller's wit and high spirits prevail, there are moments that reveal his other sides: his celesta combines with Sedric's round tenor for an intro of incredible sweetness to "Cabin in the Sky." --Stuart Broomer
Track listing Edit
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CD 1
format: number: title: number name artist hh:mm:ss 1All My Life?:??2Christopher Columbus (A Rhythm Cocktail)?:??3Cross Patch?:??4It's No Fun?:??5Cabin In The Sky?:??6Us On A Bus?:??7Stay?:??8It's A Sin To Lie?:??9The More I Know You?:??10You're Not The Kind?:??11Why Do I Lie To Myself About You??:??12Let's Sing Again?:??13Big Chief De Sota?:??14Black Raspberry Jam (Instrumental)?:??15Bach Up To Me (Instrumental)?:??16Fractious Fingering (Instrumental)?:??17Paswonky (Instrumental)?:??18Lounging At The Waldorf (Instrumental)?:??19Latch On (Instrumental)?:??20I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby (And My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Me)?:??21I Just Made Up With That Old Girl Of Mine?:?? -
CD 2
format: number: title: number name artist hh:mm:ss 1(It Will Have To Do) Until The Real Thing Comes Along?:??2There Goes My Attraction?:??3The Curse Of An Aching Heart (Take 1)?:??4The Curse Of An Aching Heart (Take 2)?:??5Bye, Bye, Baby?:??6S'posin'?:??7Copper Colored Gal?:??8I'm At The Mercy Of Love?:??9Floatin' Down To Cotton Town?:??10La-De-De-La-De-Da?:??11Hallelujah! Things Look Rosy Now?:??12Hallelujah! Things Look Rosy Now (Instrumental)?:??13'Tain't Good (Like A Nickel Made Of Wood)?:??14'Tain't Good (Like A Nickel Made Of Wood) (Instrumental)?:??15Swingin' Them Jingle Bells?:??16Swingin' Them Jingle Bells (Instrumental)?:??17A Thousand Dreams Of You?:??18A Thousand Dreams Of You (Instrumental)?:??19A Rhyme For Love?:??20I Adore You?:??
