That Place: Swingin' Tunes!

The music. That is what I enjoy most about this rennaisance of swing. From the new bands making their own music like The Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, to the local bands doing some of the most faithful and sometimes irreverent covers of traditional swing, who says there is no good new music?

NEW!! Information page about the HOTTEST new music compression, MP3, what it can do for you, and what it has already done for me!

has the best on-line selection of music I have found. All for sale, a lot with RealAudio samples. If you don't believe me, try searching for that one album that you need to finish your Frank Sinatra collection or that little known band you thought you would never find!

I carry 12 CDs at a time back and forth to work. As they change, they will appear here as my focus CDs

1. Lee Press-On and the Nails: Jump Swing From Hell
The disk is finally out, and the best place to get them is at one of the LPN shows. They are into the second pressing already, so you'd better get one before they're all gone. Other places to get them would be the Lee Press-On and the nails on-line Order Form, and Lee says that they should be available soon at Borders Books, Tower Records and the Virgin Megastores. I must say that this is my favorite album to work to, though it really makes me think about being at the Hi-Ball.

2.Cherry Poppin Daddies: Zoot Suit Riot
Just saw these guys live (See pictures above) and let me tell you, this is the cross between Swing and Ska that everyone else has been trying to perfect. "Zoot Suit Riot" is a "best of" compliation, with tracks from three of their other disks. Mostly swing, you still get an idea of the ska that they can do.

3.Stray Cats: Runaway Boys, Vol. 2
Not only was this the first concert that I ever saw (Way Back When®), but I could say that the Stray Cats were the band that first got be interested in the whole Swing/Big Band/Rockabilly genre of music.

4.Cab Calloway: Are You Hep To The Jive?
It amazes me how many dance classes I have heard taught to this album. Solid all the way through with 22 tracks, there is enough music here to keep you lindy-ing for hours.

5.Royal Crown Review: Mugzy's Move
Gangster swing at its rawest. When I put this CD in, I expect to put my feet up on my wooden desk, with a trusty revolver under my arm and wait for the next case to walk in the door.

6.The Big Six: Are You Ready To Rock...!
Rockabilly, no doubt about it. There are a few songs where you can hear a little ska sound (16: Groovy Geezer) but the sound of the electric guitar really defines this album. With over an hour of music and 20 tracks, you get much more than your money's worth out of this disc.

7.Dan's Christmas Present Mix CD
Dan beat me to it. This mix is kinda like having a CD changer in my computer! A great mix of tempos and artists, old and new. This is really a one of a kind (though there are several copies floating around). When I finally get a disk together, I hope it is as good as this one.

8.Sublime: Second Hand Smoke
Rock/Ska/Alternative, I don't know how to classify this one, but it really rocks. Since the death (by overdose) of the lead singer of Sublime, there have been a few compilations of stuff that hadn't been released before. Second Hand Smoke is probably the last one we will see with mostly new music. For the record, these guys are so good that I have had to get each album they have released.

9.Plastic Compilation - Vol 1

10.No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom

11.Reel Big Fish - Turn the Radio Off

12.This Ain't No Disco: New Wave Dance Hits
I'm a kid of the 80's, how could I pass this up? Falco, Thompson Twins, Modern English, Adam Ant... What's a guy to do? At least it's not easy to find!

Here is some information about the music collection I have, and how to read the table below.

Les Brown and his Band of Renown - ??? * Lost Continentals HERE --> Tommy Dorsey Orchestra - ??? * -->

Band Name - Album Title My Thoughts on the album Reviews from magazines, liner notes, local dance instructors' thoughts, other information about the album.

The Andrews Sisters - The Andrews Sisters My Review Send Me YOUR Review

The Benny Goodman Gold Collection Though not as crisp as some digitally remastered albums, this is a solid disc with most of the pieces Benny made famous. I don't remember exactly where I found this one (I think it was the Warehouse), but it was part of a series by famous musicians. Best thing about it was that it was relatively inexpensive. Send Me YOUR Review

Benny Goodman - Stompin' * Part of a 4-disk set (Look for the other three asterisks further down this list) that I think I got at Costco, it is best described by the statement on the back of the case "This album has been digitally remastered and every effort has been made to preserve the integrity of the original recordings". All of the noise is gone but the emotion is still audible. Recorded from 1935-1946, this is a good cross-section. For some good reading, be sure to check out the liner notes. I probably would not buy this one alone, but as part of the set, was a great deal. Send Me YOUR Review

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Watch out on this one... The new CD seems to have the same name, but is completely different from this one. The cover of this one has a bunch of two-tone clad feet on it. I haven't heard the new one yet, but preliminary reports are that it doesn't live up to other BBVD offerings. _THIS_ one however, is a true gem. The first two tracks are great covers of swing standbys, given that BBVD taste, and the rest of the album is just as good. If you can find this one, it's definately worth buying, especially since it seems to be getting hard to find. Send Me YOUR Review

Big Sandy And His Fly-Rite Boys - Big Sandy Presents His Fly-Rite Boys Very country feel to a swingy rockabilly album. Are you confused yet? You and I might be, but Big Sandy sure isn't! Whatever way you want to classify this album and style of music, this would be the band that defines it. Send Me YOUR Review

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The Big 6 - Ready to Rock..! Rockabilly, no doubt about it. There are a few songs where you can hear a little ska sound (16: Groovy Geezer) but the sound of the electric guitar really defines this album. With over an hour of music and 20 tracks, you get much more than your money's worth out of this disc. Send Me YOUR Review

Cab Calloway - Are You Hep To The Jive? It amazes me how many dance classes I have heard taught to this album. Solid all the way through with 22 tracks, there is enough music here to keep you lindy-ing for hours. Send Me YOUR Review

Chu Berry & Cab Calloway & His Orchestra - Penguin Swing The back of this disk says that 8 of the tracks are unissued takes and many of the tracks are not on other disks that I have. The audio quality is not quite as good as some remastered CDs, they lack kind of "aliveness" that is present in many new albums. Recorded from 1937-1941, be sure to listen for the tenor sax of Chu Berry, "rated by fellow jazzmen as one of the top three tenor saxophonists" Send Me YOUR Review

Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Kids On The Street My Review Send Me YOUR Review

Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot I got to see these guys live and let me tell you, this is the cross between Swing and Ska that everyone else has been trying to perfect. "Zoot Suit Riot" is a "best of" compliation, with tracks from three of their other disks. Mostly swing, you still get an idea of the ska that they can do. Send Me YOUR Review

Esquivel - Music From a Sparkling Planet My Review Down Beat 1/96, p.50
3.5 Stars - Good/Very Good - "...Esquivel's swinging, often witty arrangements are distinctive for the leader's grandiose piano and the emphatic horns (used for 'bam! pow!' punctuation), vibes and Latin percussion....It's way too weird to be truly 'easy-listening'..."

Frank Sinatra - Songs For Young Lovers/Swing Easy My Review SONGS FOR YOUNG LOVERS was recorded on November 5 and 6, 1953. SWING EASY was recorded on April 7 and 19, 1954. Includes liner notes by Pete Welding. This CD contains Sinatra's first 2 Capitol albums.

Glen Miller And His Orchestra - I Got Rhythm My Review Send Me YOUR Review

Glen Miller - The Lost Recordings (2CD Set) My Review Entertainment Weekly
9/6/96, p.77
"...a major rediscovery. Although some [tracks] have circulated on lower-fidelity bootlegs, most of these 36 sides--gorgeously scored, precisely executed, and dripping with nostalgia--will be new to listeners." - Rating: A

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

Harry James & His Music Makers - Trumpet Blues * My Review Send Me YOUR Review

Indigo Swing - Indigo Swing My Review Send Me YOUR Review

Joe Jackson - Jumpin' Jive Since this album was first released in 1981, I would have to say that Joe Jackson was THE forerunner of the swing resurgence. Many of the tracks on this album are traditional/original swing tunes, done quite faithfully. Several of these songs have been done recently by bands that sound like they have used Joe Jackson as the benchmark that they strived for. Get the album that I'd bet you favorite bands have in their collections. Send Me YOUR Review

Julie London - Julie is Her Name/Julie is Her Name Vol. 2 (2for1) Probably my favorite female vocalist of all time. I remember lying in front of the speakers on the living room floor as a kid and hearing the sweet tones of "Cry Me A River" with my eyes closed. The tempo of this album, and most of her work, is a little slow to dance anything but cheek-to-cheek, but trust me, there is nobody better to be listening to if that is the kind of "dancing" you want to be doing. Send Me YOUR Review

Julie London - Time for Love (or The Best of Julie London) I really don't know how they could have only released one "Best Of" album with 18 tracks on it. The body of work that Julie has released is incredible when you think about the quality of each track on any album she has released. There are enough fantastic songs to make at least two more "Best Of" albums, but I guess we have to leave that to the next generation to "rediscover" Julie London. For now I suggest going out and buying any CD of hers you can find. Liner Notes:
"If you look up 'sultry' in Webster's Ninth Unabridged, you might see a sketch of Julie London. Sophisticated, suggestive, caressing...her velvety song stylings whispered of cocktails, candlelight, a cigarette — and no moon at all. She didn't sing, she beckoned, and no man could doubt that Julie London yearned for him alone."

Julie London - Julie London Sings the Choicest of Cole Porter My Review Send Me YOUR Review

Julie London - The End Of The World/Nice Girls Don't Stay ... (2for1) My Review The great Julie London seems destined to be "re-discovered" every ten years or so, first in the 80's with "Cry Me A River" and then in the 90's with "Fly Me To The Moon" - here's two new reissuses of her great albums first time available on CD.

Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - One Hour Mama One of the most traditional local swing bands, when I put this CD on, I feel like I have been transported back in time. The band has the benefit of more age and experience than a lot of the "new school" bands, and it shows most in the tight feel to the music and in some of the horn solos. Though I highly recommend buying this album, be SURE to go see them live, there is nothing else like it. Send Me YOUR Review

Lee Press-On & The Nails - Jump Swing From Hell The disk is finally out, and the best place to get them is at one of the LPN shows. They are into the second pressing already, so you'd better get one before they're all gone. Other places to get them would be CDNow (See link to the left, the Lee Press-On and the nails on-line Order Form, and Lee says that they should be available soon at Borders Books, Tower Records and the Virgin Megastores. I must say that this is my favorite album to work to, though it really makes me think about being at the Hi-Ball. Well, they _DID_ win a Bammie... Need I say more?

My Review Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

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Band Name - Album Title REVIEW Send Me YOUR Review

Louis Armstrong and His ... My Review Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

Louis Jordan - Best Of Louis Jordan My Review This is a 20-song collection of the best of his Decca material.

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Prairie Cats - The Big One REVIEW coming in the next couple of days... Send Me YOUR Review

Reverend Horton Heat - It's Martini Time Got two words for this album, Fast and Tight. Even the slowest song is fast (It comes in at 117 BPM), and even the fastest song (it comes in at 322 BPM!), is tight. It is obvious how seriously these guys take their music. For good ol' Rock 'n Roll, you can't go wrong with "Rock The Joint", and the closest thing to swing is probably "Slingshot", a quick Gangster/Spy/Ska sounding song. I think this album is much more solid than their new album (See reviews below) and one I am glad to have in my collection. From CDNow
The rockabilly reverend, who preaches the gospel of '50s rock and roll rebel arrogance, is at his self-aggrandizing best on "Big Red Rocket Of Love," which opens his fourth album by coupling his Mack Daddy proclamations with an ominous, chugging surf groove. The turbocharged rhythm section of Jimbo Wallace and Scott Churilla is with the cracked clergyman every step of the way, providing an energetic, propulsive backbeat for Heat's fire-breathing vocals and radioactive guitarwork. Whether transmogrifying Black Sabbath riffs on the slow, moody "Or Is It Just Me" or delivering a monologue about the trials and tribulations of life on the road over a cool, jazzy backing on "That's Showbiz," Reverend Horton Heat delivers a punchy, distinctive wallop capable of making you believe that anytime is MARTINI TIME.

Reverend Horton Heat - Space Heater Just released, I'd have to agree with the notes from CDNow, it sounds a little like the Reverened is playing with commercialism. There is some good solid rock, and some great rockabilly. I will say this, if there is anyone that I'd trust to maintain his style while going commercial, it's the Rev., and he has done this quite well for "Space Heater" From CDNow
On his fifth album, the reverend of warped rockabilly takes his reverb and tremolo-drenched guitar down a road that leads dangerously close to radio-ready modern-rock. Whether this is a good or a bad thing will depend on your particular purity requirements, but there's no denying the catchiness of the stop-start power-chord guitar rhythms in "Lie Detector" or the nearly rapped verses of "Revolution Under Foot."

Royal Crown Review - Kings of Gangster Bop My Review From Tim Hayman
I'd call this the better of the two albums by these guys worth owning, the other being of course Mugzy's Move. "Stormy Weather" gives way to crooning and great lindy rhythm and "Swinging All Day" is simply a great, fun song. You'll find some repetition between the two albums, but both have tight, RCR swing-with-attitude style tracks making them high points in my collection.

Royal Crown Review - Mugzy's Move Gangster swing at its rawest. When I put this CD in, I expect to put my feet up on my wooden desk, with a trusty revolver under my arm and wait for the next case to walk in the door. Send Me YOUR Review

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot With all of the radio play that "Hell" got, you would expect it to be the best track on this disk. No so! The next single to get airplay is supposed to be "Put A Lid On It" and when I talked to the lead singer at LIVE 105's BFD last year, he was much happier about that as a choice. He also told me that the third major album was just about ready for release, after the single started getting some more airtime. Don't miss the multimedia aspect of this disc, samples from other albums, interviews from NPR, great graphics, and supposedly the next album is going to have even more multimedia stuff on it. Though a little faster overall than "The inevitable", this album still is quite sultry. Kind of that hot, sticky , New Orleans summer feel. Hey, where's my mint julep? Musician 8/96, p.88
"...a sextet of multi-instrumentalists who reach back to the hot jazz of the '30s and '40s for heated inspiration....The band's greatest triumph is that in digging into the past they've created music with wickedly fresh energy....HOT dishes out an almost frightening amount of fun..."

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Inevitable Their first major release (I've heard there are some singles and harder to find stuff), considering the quality of this album, I'm surprised they weren't noticed earlier. They only do original songs, so there won't be anything you recognize, but if you want to close your eyes and be transported to New Orleans, buy this album. Hell, if you just want something original, get it! Option 7-8/95, p.139
"...kind of like a Dixieland cocktail, drenched in horns and percussive as all git-out...if chanteuse Katherine Whalen is no Billie Holliday, she's so good you don't mind her trying..."
From Tim Hayman
"Good Enough for Granddad" and "La Grippe" are two of my fav. swing songs not just by this Dixieland style swing band but in the whole scene. I'm thinking about "Granddad" now and wanting to kick my feet up in Charleston variations. Horns all over the place, that wacky lead singing voice "Driving me Crazy", and an overall fun loving attitude I get listening to this album make it a high point in my collection (more so than Hot and Roasted Right).

Stray Cats - Runaway Boys Not only was this the first concert that I ever saw (Way Back When®), but I could say that the Stray Cats were the band that first got be interested in the whole Swing/Big Band/Rockabilly genre of music. This is a 2-CD set, the first disk is new(?) studio stuff, and the second is kind of a live "Best Of" disk. I really like having both types in one set, and if you don't have any Stray Cats (What rock have YOU been living under?), this would be a great album to start with. Send Me YOUR Review

My Review Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

COMPILATION ALBUMS

Best of the Big Bands - CD1
Best of the Big Bands - CD2
Best of the Big Bands - CD3
Best of the Big Bands - CD4 My Review Send Me YOUR Review

Big Band Fever - Vol. 1
Big Band Fever - Vol. 2 My Review Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON
TRACK LIST COMING SOON

Classic Crooners - 20 Unforgettable Vocal My Review Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

The HiBall Lounge Sessions, Vol. 1 As a sampling of local San Francisco talent, this is a great disk. Many of these bands have their own albums out, or they will be out soon, and many of these tracks are on those albums. If you don't have them yet, this is a great way to hear some of the local artists if you can't get to their shows. Send Me YOUR Review

The Rat Pack Comedy, vocal genius, drinking, drug references, racial slurs, this album has it all. Taped during a live Sands Casino show in Vegas, Frank and Dean gang up on Sammy who manages to hold his own. Many solos, duets, and crazyness. For $8.49 (Last time I checked) from CDNow, probably one of your best musical values. Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

Swing Dance Volume One My Review Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

Frankie Manning's Big Band Favorites - Catalog #85000-695-2 My Review Send Me YOUR Review

TRACK LIST COMING SOON

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Rating system, and all content herein, © April 1998, That Place