Sing the Dancing 20's was the last of three LPs that
the Andrews Sisters recorded for Capitol Records in the middle/late '50s. The Andrews Sisters in Hi-Fi, which recreated their Decca hits of the 1940s, was the best of that trio of releases --
Sing the Dancing 20's is more of an acquired taste, at least for the casual fans. Songs like "Collegiate," "Last Night on the Back Porch," "Keep Your Skirts Down, Mary Ann," and "Back in Your Own Backyard" capture some of the sassiness and spirit of their classic sides, while other songs are just too dated to be rescued or revived by the singing trio. Even the weakest of the songs, however, offers an interesting take on
the Andrews Sisters' talents -- one of their major inspirations was
the Boswell Sisters, and the repertory represented here (especially "The Japanese Sandman") intersects with the period, if not the actual records cut by
the Boswells or the manner in which they would have done them. Additionally, most of the songs here are certainly numbers they grew up with, and they throw a lot of feeling into all of the music, aided by
Billy May's restrained accompaniment, very different from
Vic Schoen's bolder arrangements. ~ Bruce Eder