SwingDJs

I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions of a good Basie album to buy that contains Dance of the Gremlins. I have found a lot of cds, I'm considering the Chronological Class 43 - 45, but if anyone has any better alternatives that would be great .

Harrison

As I recommended in the Basie: Your Favorite Songs thread, you should definitely pick up the 4-CD set Count Basie Story (Proper). It has "Dance Of The Gremlins" along with tons of other classic 30s Basie gems. Amazon.com lists it at $21.99 and even lists used copies for as low as $16.87. That's a steal for so much great Basie!

Jesse

Does it have a lot of the stuff from The Complete Decca Recordings and the Columbia Essential Count Basie discs? That box set crossed my mind too, but I don't want to buy it if it has most of the stuff I already own.

Harrison

Yup, it most certainly has overlap with both of those sets. This compilation ranges from 1937 - 1950 with cuts from Decca, Columbia, Okeh, Victor and other labels. "Dance of the Gremlins" was one of the V-Disc recordings from 1943 during the commercial recording ban.

This is a great collection, probably including a bunch of stuff you don't have elsewhere. The sound quality is impressive, and the liner notes are extensive.

Jesse

K, cool, thanks!

Harrison

since it's a V-disc the quality is never going to be that good...however I really recommend 1943-1943 because most of the tracks are real tight and aggressive and there are even better tracks on it than DOTG, it actually might be my favorite Basie (right now)...

Yeah, I checked out the Count Basie Story box set, and it had most of what I currently own, so I couldn't justify buying the box set for a few songs I didn't have. Instead I bought 2 other box sets and some other cds

Harrison