The Tony Gilbert Sound - Those Fabulous Forties
November 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This is Tony Gilbert's third CD, with his previous two; "We Need A Little Christmas" and "Those Fabulous Fifties" both being released in 2009 (another one who took a gap year). The keyboards played aren't mentioned, which is a shame, but they do sound pretty current.
Some sequence CDs do tend to lack a bit of the sparkle of easy-listening ones, as they have to follow the set patterns and rules of sequence, but this CD doesn't seem to suffer from that problem (neither do his previous two).
As you would expect from a CD of the 1940s, it features a lot of Glen Miller style tunes and, as these are done in quickstep, foxtrot, jive and swing styles, they fit a lot better than some organists who try and do a Lady GaGa song as a Paso Doble. In fact, I could probably listen to over half the tracks on this CD without necessarily realising it was a sequence CD.
The first three tracks follow my outline above, with "Opus One", "Sing, Sing, Sing" and two Glen Miller style medleys. We have a couple of waltzes next before we get ‘back in the swing' with "Chattanooga Choo Choo / On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe" and "Little Brown Jug".
Cha chas and Rhumbas follow and then we are back in the forties vein with jives and swings; there are corking versions of "American Patrol" and "In The Mood", both of which, I am pleased to say, get a whole track each without having to share. These two are probably my favourites of the whole CD. Things slow down a bit with two blues numbers, "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and a medley of "Sally" and "We'll Meet Again". Again, these fit the rhythm nicely.
This is another well played and arranged CD from Mr. Gilbert, who is proving popular with our customers. Who's betting that a Fabulous Sixties CD is already in the pipeline (although he seems to be working backwards, so it could well be the Thirties).
FULL TRACKS: [Quickstep] Opus One • [Quickstep] Sing Sing Sing • [Foxtrot] String of Pearls / Jersey Bounce / Tuxedo Junction • [Foxtrot] I'll Never Smile Again / I Know Why / At Last • [Waltz] Anniversary Waltz / The Boy Next Door • [Waltz] Maria Elena • [Jive] Chattanooga Choo Choo / On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe • [Jive] Little Brown Jug • [Cha Cha] Frenesi / Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps • [Cha Cha] Perfidia • [Rhumba] My Foolish Heart / Fools Rush In / Autumn Leaves • [Rhumba] Yours / White Cliffs of Dover • [Swing] American Patrol • [Swing] In the Mood • [Blues] On the Sunny Side of the Street • [Blues] Sally / We'll Meet Again • [NV Waltz] Cruising Down the River / I'll Be Your Sweetheart • [Nv Waltz] It's a Grand Night for Singing / Wait 'Til You See Her / Wunderbar • [Saunter] The Gypsy / I Apologise / Imagination • [Saunter] I Only Have Eyes for You • [Samba] The Coffee Song • [Samba] I, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi (I Like You Very Much) / I Want My Mama.
