The Continental is first in a series of Ambrose discs undertaken by Vocalion, a subsidiary of Dutton Labs, which generally limits its activity to expertly remastered reissues of vintage classical music recordings. There are three instrumentals here, all Latin-flavored, and if everything on this disc was as good as the track "Maracas" (drawn from the "Cuban Suite" of Don Marzerdal) you'd have a release that nearly every dance music lover would desire. But this is a mixed bag of Ambrose recordings selected from his Embassy ...
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The Continental is first in a series of Ambrose discs undertaken by Vocalion, a subsidiary of Dutton Labs, which generally limits its activity to expertly remastered reissues of vintage classical music recordings. There are three instrumentals here, all Latin-flavored, and if everything on this disc was as good as the track "Maracas" (drawn from the "Cuban Suite" of Don Marzerdal) you'd have a release that nearly every dance music lover would desire. But this is a mixed bag of Ambrose recordings selected from his Embassy Club period of 1934-1937, and perhaps as not as "mixed" as one would desire. The sequencing of the disc tends to lump all of the slow tunes together, and there are two Evelyn Dall vocals that, likewise, appear one right after the other. This reviewer suspects that this sequencing is derived from chronological placement of the recordings, but as dates for the individual tracks are not given, who knows without dipping into the Rust Guide? Some of this material is comparable to Guy Lombardo's recordings of the period -- not a bad thing in itself, but it is tiresome over the long haul. When the more up-tempo items come along, they don't command your attention.Something should be said about the sound on this disc -- -- it is rich, full-bodied, and totally free of surface noise. There is some echo used for ambience, but it is so faint that it's apparent only through headphones. These Dutton Labs reissues of Ambrose are to be preferred above all others if sound quality is the main factor in your decision as what to seek out from this band. But try one of the other ones before you start here. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, Rovi
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