The implications of Europe's 50-year copyright limit on recordings began to be realized as of the mid-'80s when the early work of such perennial stars as
Bing Crosby started to enter the public domain, as evidenced by unlicensed compilations such as this. British reissue label ASV/Living Era selects 18
Crosby recordings made during the first half of the 1930s, the disc's tracks transferred from 78-rpm records, with the muffled sound and occasional distortion and surface noise that entails. The source material also may offer some explanation of the choices, which make little sense otherwise. Some of
Crosby's biggest hits of the period -- "June in January," "Love in Bloom," "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" -- are included, but even more are not, and there are some obscurities, notably versions of
Carrie Jacobs-Bond's turn of the century ballads "I Love You Truly" and "Just A-Wearyin' for You." Those two songs originally appeared on either side of
Crosby's first single for the newly formed American Decca Records label in 1934, which gives them historical importance and emphasizes the unusual nature of this compilation; also containing recordings made for RCA Victor and Brunswick, it probably would be impossible to duplicate in the U.S., where competing labels control the tracks.
Crosby, in the prime of his early crooning period, and singing many songs written especially for him, sounds good on all this material, but with its apparently random selection and sequencing, the album is hardly an ideal representation of his work during the period.