Rating:
Genre:
Vocal Music
Release Date: 02/19/2008
OK, this is the kind of dorky music that your parents listened to when you weren't playing
Elvis,
Buddy Holly, or
Dave Brubeck on the phonograph; and it was the kind of MOR
pop of the '50s and early '60s that
rock & roll battled tooth-and-nail for supremacy -- but this is also some of the most infectiously tuneful dorky music there is, and some of the most captivating of its '50s nerd-appeal idiom. The 15 tracks, all beautifully remastered for maximum impact, range from straight singalong numbers like
"You Are My Sunshine" by
Mitch Miller & the Sing Along Gang to instrumentals such as
"Song for a Summer Night" by
Mitch Miller & His Orchestra.
Marches like
"Bonnie Blue Gal" and
"Colonel Bogey" from
Bridge on the River Kwai work best, but
ballads (
"Autumn Leaves"), movie songs (
"The Longest Day"),
novelty songs (
"Tzena, Tzena, Tzena"), and
show tunes (
"Do-Re-Me") were also at the center of
Miller's repertory, and represented here. For all of the care lavished on it, this disc may still work best as a gag gift, although it's also sure to evoke strong memories in anyone over 50 of camp singalongs and watching
Miller on television with the family.
~Bruce Eder, All Music Guide