Recent reviews of Crystal Stream Audio CDs
from
Memory Lane, England
"Your Return Ticket to Musical Nostalgia"

PEGGY DELL ‘Over My Shoulder' IDCD21O
"It’s a treat to get a disc devoted to the singing talents of Peggy Dell who has, perhaps, remained in the shadows during the explosion of reissues of British Dance Bands on CD in the last decade. Crystal Stream have put together an interesting selection of her work between 1933 and 1939 with two of the great bands of the period - Roy Fox and Jack Hylton. Peggy was an accomplished pianist and played second piano in both bands as well as delighting audiences with her rich contralto voice. I suspect her talents were more suitable for a small stage setting or cabaret work and it is in this environment that she spent most of her career in the 1950s and 1960s. But she does a good job with the rather mixed material she was given and is heard to good effect in the title number backed by Roy Fox and Now It Can Be Told with the Hylton orchestra. The Jack Hylton Party track is a bit of an anachronism, somewhat dominated by Tommy Handley, but it does give a good example of what you had to do if you worked for Jack Hylton! The original 78s have been transferred to perfection so this is a CD I am very happy to recommend" - Gordon Howsden

HENRY KING and His Orchestra. 'Sweet Madness' IDCD204
"A really good American Dance Band playing excellent arrangements of excellent songs. And I was really surprised by the number of really good songs I had not heard before, for example Sweet Madness, Me For You Forever, Song of Surrender and Call of Love. Mixing these in with some well known songs made for some great listening. The remastering by Ian Dodds of Crystal Stream Audio in Australia was up to his usual very high quality and I would rate him as one of the best restorers of 78rpm discs in the world. No extranious noises, minimal surface noise and a lovely warm sound" - Peter Wells

BROADWAY MELODIES IDCD198
"Many, if not most, of the standard songs that originated in the 1920s started life on Broadway. I wonder how many would be aware that the De Sylva, Brown and Henderson hit songs, Button Up Your Overcoat and You're the Cream in My Coffee were originally written for shows titled Hold Everything and Follow Through respectively. Crystal Stream Audio have put together 18 'songs from shows' selections that were originally issued on 12" 78rpm discs. Mostly they were recorded by RCA's Victor Light Opera Company directed by Nat Shilkret, which had access to top session musicians and singers. From Rose Marie and Show Boat to Funny Face and Whoopee the melodies flowed in a seemingly unceasing stream. As usual, the remastering by Crystal Stream is first class" - Gordon Howsden

AMBROSE and His Orchestra with Sam Browne IDCD200
"(Although) this CD has been issued to celebrate the talents of Sam Browne, it is certainly no hardship to listeners that he is backed by the superb Ambrose and his Orchestra. All the recordings date from 1930 at the time when Ambrose returned to the HMV fold. Here he was, effectively, number two to Jack Hylton who, by co-incidence, had until recently been Sam Browne's employer! Despite his perceived status Ambrose had no problems in getting to record many of the quality songs released during this period giving Sam the opportunity to demonstrate his ability to always give a polished performance in whatever style was required. There are some classic tracks here, none better than those produced at the session on 22 May. A Japanese Dream gives Ambrose's American imports Sylvester Ahola and Danny Polo starring roles, and Lew Stone's arrangement of 'Leven Thirty Saturday Night always bears repeated listening. All in all this is a great way for Crystal Stream to mark the 200th CD release" - Gordon Howsden

The HIGH HATTERS Volume Two "Sweet and Hot" IDCD197
"The High Hatters was a top class studio orchestra that was initially led by Nat Shilkret before he handed over the baton to Leonard Joy. The popular songs of the day, many of which went on to become standards, were the normal fare for this band, which were released on the prestigious Victor label. Vocals were entrusted only to the best session singers and on this selection the prolific Frank Luther can be heard on over half of the 26 tracks. Among the bigger hits are I Wanna Be Loved By You, I May Be Wrong But I Think You're Wonderful and It's the Darndest Thing. The Liner notes from Geoff Orr and the remastering by Ian Dodds are exemplary" - Gordon Howsden

VINCENT LOPEZ and his Casa Lopez Orchestra IDCD196
"Vincent was one of the great survivors of American dance music leading bands for some 50 years. The recordings here are from the early part of his career and date from 1922 to 1928. The first of the 26 tracks features Nola which became his first hit record. A scattering of other well known tunes are also included but most of the numbers, if pleasant enough, did not stand the test of time. The orchestra has some inspired moments but for the most part contents itself with playing stock arrangements in a thoroughly proficient manner. For most of his recordings Lopez used top session vocalists including Irving Kaufman, Dick Robertson and Scrappy Lambert. Some surface noise is detectable on the older recordings but to my mind this adds to the period feel of the music" - Gordon Howsden

Bert and John FIRMAN. Crystal Stream IDCD195
"Tracks 1 to 19 dating from 1926 to 1928 feature orchestras led by Bert with elder brother John taking over the baton for the remaining eight numbers. These latter date from 1930/31 when Bert was in America. Although the Rhythmic Eight orchestra, with which the Firmans are most often associated, only appeared on the labels of a few of the 78s selected here, all the Firman orchestras represented play in a similar up tempo, or "hot", style. Many of London's top session musicians participated in these recordings and with Maurice Elwin providing most of the vocal choruses the standard of musicianship is excellent throughout. The transfers have been handled with Crystal Stream's usual skill and sensitivity" - Gordon Howsden