Acker Bilk is best remembered for his crossover pop hit "Stranger on the Shore," a middle-of-the-road smoothie that featured his honeyed clarinet well to the fore. This 12-song best-of reprises that along with other similar fare. Two selections find him working with pianist
Bent Fabric, first on a duet version of "Stranger," then on Fabric's big elevator music hit "Alley Cat." But the biggest surprise here is the inclusion of the "long version" of "Buono Sera," done up in a style that's equal parts
Louis Prima wedded to full-blown Dixieland trad and definitely the most un-pop-like selection on here.