Louis Armstrong – The Definitive Collection

Louis Armstrong
Artist: Louis Armstrong
Title: The Definitive Collection
Label: Hip-O
Rating: 8/10

FILE UNDER: The Legend

THE REVIEW: Honestly there are no bad songs out of the twenty-three included. Each is a classic. Louis Armstrong had more classics—so many more that there was no way all of them could have fit on one CD. The record label opted for the popular songs—rather than the instrumental songs—no real harm in that.

The obvious hits are the two-minute classic “What A Wonderful World,” “Hello, Dolly!” and the marvelous “When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You).” Not so obvious, and no less amazing, are “Mack The Knife” and “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?” Both are brilliant songs that Armstrong covered and made his own. “Mack The Knife” opens with Armstrong’s horn leading the way and when his voice comes in you get goose-bumps.

An interesting cover is “Georgia On My Mind.” It doesn’t have that tenderness of the original Ray Charles version but Armstrong does what he does best—creates an entirely new song. “On The Sunny Side of the Street” opens with an instrumental which gives new Armstrong fans a taste of his magical horn.

Armstrong’s duet with Bing Crosby “Gone Fishin’” is a brilliant. Crosby’s satin plays well against Armstrong’s gritty vocal to become a match made in heaven. “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” might not strike you as a song you’ve heard before but the moment the first verse comes out of Armstrong’s voice you love it. And what Armstrong album would be complete without “When The Saints Go Marching In.”

FRANKLY: This is the very commercial Louis Armstrong—which is the way most of the world knows Satchmo. Armstrong had more songs where he never sang than he had singing—and those were classics, too. It was the kid from New Orleans and his horn that made him a star but it was his voice, horn, and smile that made him a Legend. There are a few tracks on The Definitive Collection that still have hiss of being recorded an era ago. Thankfully there are many tracks that sound spectacular.

Every music class across this country should give kids a copy of Louis Armstrong and this “Definitive Collection” so they can hear the real roots to American music.
Blow Satchmo blow!

+ Charlie Craine


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