The first of two albums in this "Swing vs. Latin" pairing,
Heath vs. Ros opts to pitch sixteen members of each orchestra opposite each at the channel level. That's right. Whereas Esquivel had a separate orchestra in two studios playing the same arrangements, here we have two different orchestras playing in two different styles! The results are underwhelming, however. Heath's brass on the more Latinate tunes is annoying; poor Ros singing "The Coffee Song" is practically drowned out. With the exception of an affectingly camp treatment of "Miserlou," the great battle is little more than a curious experiment in multi-channel stereo. ~ Tony Wilds