Product Description

4-CD LP-sized box set with 160-page hardcover book brings to light the explosion of creativity that miraculously took place during the rough years of 1929-1941. 88 songs in all featuring artists Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, Lee Morse, Gene Kardo, Connee Boswell, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Mills Brothers & many others.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Hittin' the Ceiling - Smith Ballew
2. I'm in the Market for You - Ambrose Orchestra, Bert Ambrose
3. Happy Days Are Here Again - Casa Loma Orchestra
4. Song of the Bayou - Marlow Hardy & His Alabamans
5. Eddie Cantor's Tips on the Stock Market [Monologue] - Eddie Cantor
6. Cottage for Sale
7. Get Happy - Ted Wallace, Ted Wallace
8. Sweeping the Clouds Away [From: Paramount on Parade] - Casa Loma Orchestra
9. Laughing at Life - McKinney's Cotton Pickers
10. It's a Great Life (If You Don't Weaken) [From: Playboy of Paris] - Sam Lanin
11. Cheer Up! Good Times Are Comin'
12. Cheer Up! Smile! Nertz! [Ballyhoo] - Eddie Cantor, Phil Spitalny
13. Singing a Vagabond Song [From: Putting on the Ritz] - Ted Lewis Orchestra
14. Son of the Sun [From: Luana] - Ben Pollack, Jack Teagarden
15. Hallelujah, I'm a Bum [From Hallelujah I'm A Bum] - Al Jolson
16. Big City Blues [From: Fox Movietone Follies of 1929] - Annette Hanshaw
17. There's a Tear for Every Smile in Hollywood [From: Showgirl in ...] - Blue Steele
18. Ten Cents a Dance - Ruth Etting
19. Cigarettes Cigars [From: Ziegfeld Follies of 1931] - Ruth Etting
20. Just a Gigolo [From: Doctor Cheer CBS Radio Transcription] - Johnny Marvin
21. Love for Sale [From: The New Yorkers'] - Libby Holman
22. We Can Live on Love - Smith Ballew

Disc 2:

1. There's No Depression in Love - Vincent Rose
2. Now's the Time to Fall in Love [From: Palmy Days'] - Victor Young
3. I'm an Unemployed Sweetheart - Lee Morse
4. I Got Five Dollars [From: America's Sweetheart'] - Emil Coleman
5. I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store) - Paul Specht
6. Last Dollar
7. Here It Is Monday and I've Still Got a Dollar - Chick Bullock
8. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) - Mildred Bailey
9. Whistling in the Dark - Sam Lanin
10. Dancing in the Dark [From: The Band Wagon] - Ben Selvin Orchestra
11. Alone Together [From: Flying Colors] - Victor Young
12. Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries [Excerpt from: Gems from: White, ...] - The Boswell Sisters, Bing Crosby, The Mills Brothers
13. (We've Got To) Put That Sun Back in the Sky - The Boswell Sisters
14. Shoo the Hoodoo Away - Bert Ambrose,
15. Whistle and Blow Your Blues Away - Ben Selvin Orchestra
16. Headin' for Better Times - Ted Lewis Orchestra
17. Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee [From: Face the Music] - Enric Madriguera
18. Sittin' on a Rubbish Can - Julia Gerity
19. Underneath the Arches - Henry Hall & BBC Dance Orchestra
20. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? - Bing Crosby
21. Remember My Forgotten Man [From: Gold Diggers of 1933] - Freddy Martin
22. It Must Be Swell to Be Laying Out Dead - Alex Bartha

Disc 3:

1. Supper Time [From: As Thousands Cheer] - Leo Reisman
2. Banking on the Weather [From: Crooner] - Russ Carlson
3. Shanty in Old Shanty Town - Gene Kardos
4. (Here We Are) Rolling in Love [From: The Old Fashioned Way] - Joe Morrison
5. I'd Rather Be a Beggar With You
6. Here You Come with Love - Freddy Martin
7. Let's Put Out the Lights (And Go to Sleep) - Bing Crosby
8. Clouds Will Soon Roll By
9. Rome Wasn't Built in a Day [From: Roman Scandels] - Abe Lyman
10. If I Ever Get a Job Again - Gene Kardos
11. Them Good Old Times Are Coming Back Again - Ben Selvin Orchestra
12. Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? [From: The Three Little Pigs] - Ben Bernie and His Orchestra
13. There's a New Day Coming - Ted Lewis Orchestra
14. Buy America! - Ted Lewis Orchestra
15. Hey! Young Fella - Ruth Etting
16. Grass Is Getting Greener - Victor Young
17. (I Went Hunting) And the Big Bad Wolf Was Dead [From: Cockeyed Cavalie] - Ted Fio Rito
18. We're Out of the Red [From: Stand Up and Cheer] - Ramona Davies,
19. We're in the Money (The Gold Diggers Song) [From: Gold Diggers of 1933] - The Boswell Sisters
20. Road Is Open Again [From: The Road Is Open Again] - Dick Powell
21. Let 'Em Eat Cake [From: Let 'Em Eat Cake] - Emil Coleman
22. In a One Room Flat [From: The Way to Love] - Freddy Martin

Disc 4:

1. What Have We Got to Lose? (Hi-Ho-Lack-A-Day) - Phil Harris
2. Stringin' Along on a Shoe String - Henry "Red" Allen
3. When My Ship Comes in [From: Kid Millions] - Eddie Cantor
4. If I Had a Million Dollars [From: Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round] - The Boswell Sisters
5. Our Penthouse on Third Avenue - Gene Kardos
6. Raisin' the Rent [From: The Cotton Club Revue] - Roy Bargy
7. Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Chick Bullock
8. Boulevard of Broken Dreams [From: Moulin Rouge] - Connie Boswell
9. Now I'm a Lady (Goin' to Town) - Paul Whiteman Orchestra
10. I Gotta Get up and Go to Work - Adrian Rollini & the Gang
11. Gotta Go to Work Again [From: My Man Godrey] - Ted Wallace
12. Are You Making Any Money? - Chick Bullock
13. Got the Jitters - Ozzie Nelson
14. Rain - Don Bestor
15. With Plenty of Money and You [From: Gold Diggers of 1937] - The Ink Spots
16. I'm Feeling Like a Million [From: Broadway Melody of 1938] - Teddy Hill
17. Slumming on Park Avenue [From: On the Avenue] - Red Norvo
18. Whistle While You Work [From: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs] - Artie Shaw
19. W.P.A. - Louis Armstrong, The Mills Brothers
20. Hey Pop! I Don't Wanna Go to Work - Kay Kyser
21. Dawn of a New Day - Horace Heidt
22. Happy Days Are Here Again - Ben Selvin Orchestra

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47135 in Music
• Released on: 1998-11-23
• Number of discs: 4
• Formats: Box set, Import

Customer Reviews

A great selection that is well-organized and well-produced.
This set provides songs about the depression and they are arranged in chronological order. All the well-know songs are here but not always in the best-known versions. This is actually a wise choice. I suspect the producer assumed that the average purchaser already had versions of many of these songs and deliberately chose some alternative recordings. Some of these alternatives are good and some are not. I found it curious that the producer was critical of some of his own choices. One wonders why he would criticize his own selection rather than choose a better one. The book that accompanies the discs provides a discography for each song and a short essay that places it in the context of the depression. The essays are breezy and lack depth. There are a few howlers in the comments, but for the most part they are enjoyable. The mastering on some of the selections is questionable, but overall the job has been done well. Surface noise is sometimes high but my ears tell me that it was left so that the sound of the original recording would not be obscured. This is a terrific set albeit a bit pricey.

You can't spell Freedom without FDR
If you're even considering this superb box set, you probably don't have to be sold on the idea of owning four cds worth of pop from the 1930s. As you can see from the track list, these songs range from million sellers like Bing Crosby's reading of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" to a rare early version of Cole Porter's now standard "Love for Sale" to songs people haven't heard for 70 years. The bulk of the songs are from 1929 to 1933, with about 20% coming from later in the decade. They are mostly Tin Pan Alley pop, sometimes by the cream of that crop (Gershwin, Porter, Arlen, Berlin, etc). Each track is well annotated, with a paragraph or two on the performers, writers, and performance. Often, you get a brief analysis about the music and the themes, peppered with the author's decidedly left-leaning/populist historical views (not surprisingly, as he is writing about a time when "Small Government" had failed us miserably). When appropriate, he groups songs thematically- like songs about money, songs about work, songs about selling your body for sex, and so on.
In short, this is a typical multi-artist set from Bear Family, a label known for top of the line production, remastering, and packaging. No regrets here.