This Italian compilation, which sounds like it has been mastered from records, contains 27 non-chronologically sequenced tracks recorded by the Mills Brothers for Brunswick and Decca Records between 1931 and 1934. The selection includes some of the group's hits, notably "Dinah" (with Bing Crosby), "St. Louis Blues," "Bugle Call Rag," and "Tiger Rag" (a 1934 re-recording rather than the 1931 original is included), but others, like "Swing It, Sister" and "Sleepy Head" are excluded. (All of these, and 20 more from the same period, are available on a second volume.) In addition to Crosby, guest artists include the Boswell Sisters, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, and Dick Powell. Although it has a generous length approaching 72 & 1/2 minutes, this disc does not present the best possible selection of Mills Brothers recordings from the period, nor are they presented in optimum sound quality.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo