OK, this is the kind of dorky music that your parents listened to when you weren't playing
Elvis,
Buddy Holly, or
Dave Brubeck on the phonograph; and it was the kind of MOR pop of the '50s and early '60s that rock & roll battled tooth-and-nail for supremacy -- but this is also some of the most infectiously tuneful dorky music there is, and some of the most captivating of its '50s nerd-appeal idiom. The 15 tracks, all beautifully remastered for maximum impact, range from straight singalong numbers like "You Are My Sunshine" by Mitch Miller & the Sing Along Gang to instrumentals such as "Song for a Summer Night" by
Mitch Miller & His Orchestra. Marches like "Bonnie Blue Gal" and "Colonel Bogey" from Bridge on the River Kwai work best, but ballads ("Autumn Leaves"), movie songs ("The Longest Day"), novelty songs ("Tzena, Tzena, Tzena"), and show tunes ("Do-Re-Me") were also at the center of
Miller's repertory, and represented here. For all of the care lavished on it, this disc may still work best as a gag gift, although it's also sure to evoke strong memories in anyone over 50 of camp singalongs and watching
Miller on television with the family. ~ Bruce Eder