Ray Anthony - Like Wild! (1959)
Ray Anthony - Like Wild! (1959)
A1 Room 43 A2 Fall Out A3 Kukie Bird A4 Darl Eyes A5 Peter Gunn A6 Wrong Number B1 707 B2 Swanee River B3 Fly Now, Play Later B4 Bunny Hop Rock B5 Rock-Umba B6 Walkin' To Mother's
Anthony’s orchestras were fashioned, as we said, mainly for dancing, much like those of Les Brown, Harry James, the Dorsey brothers or the Elgarts, most of whom normally earmarked more space for improvisation than Anthony, whose James–like trumpet is often the only solo voice heard. The reason for Anthony’s popularity is clear; in an era in which dancing was popular, his orchestra gave dancers a sumptuous backdrop for their pursuit with no unpleasant interludes. What Anthony didn’t have, at least when these recordings were made, was a knockout singer like Sinatra, Helen Forrest, Jo Stafford, Ray Eberle or others of their stature. Hank Grad, Chuck Fonda, Dee Keating and Billy Johnson simply can’t compete in that arena. Aside from that these air–checks are fine, with generally good sound and balance, and Anthony enthusiasts should find them pleasing. Many of Anthony’s more recent recordings have been reissued as Compact Discs on his own Aero Space label, and are also worth checking out. ---Jack Bowers, allaboutjazz.com
download (mp3 @320 kbs):