Love's Old Sweet Song: Twenty Five Singers in Popular Ballads (1994)

Love may well make the world go 'round, but as love songs, these 25 mono recordings tracked between 1905 and 1938 sure sound on the maudlin side, as if love were a fast-fading ideal more alive in the distant past than in the present. Operatic in tone, generally just a single voice placed over piano accompaniment (a few of these sides are given orchestral settings), and often set in or referring to the passing of the seasons, these songs unfold in long, unhurried lines that carry few of the relentless hooks that characterize ... Read More

Love may well make the world go 'round, but as love songs, these 25 mono recordings tracked between 1905 and 1938 sure sound on the maudlin side, as if love were a fast-fading ideal more alive in the distant past than in the present. Operatic in tone, generally just a single voice placed over piano accompaniment (a few of these sides are given orchestral settings), and often set in or referring to the passing of the seasons, these songs unfold in long, unhurried lines that carry few of the relentless hooks that characterize most modern love songs. Released largely on 78s, the sound on some of these tracks is full of use-acquired surface noise, as if one were listening to them play while a steady rain fell on the windowsill. Indeed, the first selection here, Adelina Patti's haunting "The Last Rose of Summer," almost sounds like it was recorded during a hailstorm, so thick is the surface noise, but it still manages to be one of the highlights of the anthology. Other high points include Amelita Galli-Curci's mannered but delightful "Love's Old Sweet Song," Dusolina Giannini's gorgeous and orchestrated "I Love You Truly," and Marian Anderson's great and otherworldly version of "Deep River," a recording that is so insular that it almost seems to stand outside of time. Dignified and unhurried, and full of as much sadness as joy, these grand old songs suggest that what passes for a love song in the 21st century might actually be nothing more than an incidental ditty built to be digested quickly before the pace of contemporary life, so full of clatter and motion, sweeps the moment away. These songs come from quieter times when love and lust were still separated and seldom used to sell soap. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi Read Less

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• CD, Good 1994, ASV UPC: 743625513028 See Item Details ▾

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  	Edition: 1994, ASV CD, Good	Details: UPC: 743625513028 Discs: 1 Label: ASV Released: 1994 Alibris ID: 17754207182	Shipping Options: Standard Shipping: $3.46 Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
  Seller's Description: Bennett/Wright; Bond; Burleigh; Clarke; Clay/Stephenson; Clutsam; Coates; Coates/Weatherly; DelRiego; Edwards;... Good. Used-Good Condition. Some signs of use, but nothing that should affect playback. Includes case and original artwork and liner notes when applicable.
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1994, ASV UPC: 743625513028 CD See All from $6.94