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I'm reviewing one of those incredibly unfortunate records that you might buy as a magazine attachment, or that you get for free at street stalls, so worthless are they. It's not the "Silver Collection" by Verve, no, it's such a shabby compilation that I couldn't even find a photo of it on the internet. But it's unacceptable that there isn't even a few lines about Louis Armstrong on this site!
I'm reviewing one of these records because it must be said that there are people who have swing within them. In the heart, in the head, in the legs, between the fingers, and under the skin. Some are made of swing, like Duke, Jimmy Cobb, like Louis Armstrong. And this collection is full of swing. It's pre-war jazz, we know it, we don't expect 15-minute solos or electronic contaminations: it's Satchmo, to the nth degree.
"C'Est Si Bon (It's So Good)": are you perhaps lounging on the bed? You won't be able to stay there for more than ten seconds. Are you sitting at your desk? It's impossible not to tap your foot to the beat. That's where the play is, in the feeling. And then "Georgia On My Mind", "Blueberry Hill", and "La Vie En Rose". Are you still lounging on the bed? What are you, a machine? A heartless brute? Because you have to be heartless not to be warmed by Louis's husky and paternal voice. Come on, he's singing for you, get up and dance! "Hello Dolly"! What more do you want? If you don't get up now, to the rhythm of that banjo, listening to that wonderful counterpoint of the trumpet to the voice, you're not human. If you resist the charges of "Basin Street Blues" (what horns!!) and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", you're not worthy of being brought into this world.
There's Satchmo rocking you with his big voice, it feels as if you can see him, smiling before playing the trumpet, then pulling those funny faces. You've gotten up, finally: it seems only right. It took you half the album, but now you can enjoy "Jeepers Creepers" as you should. Certain giants deserve respect; you can't stand still. The record continues, piling swing upon swing, good cheer upon wellness: "When You're Smiling" and the renowned "Down By The Riverside". You'd give millions to be among those in the choir, wouldn't you? Yes, I would too. After the minor episodes "Canal Street Blues", "Hotter Than That", and "Potato Head Blues" (minor so to speak, of course), here's the great classic. The piece which, along with "What A Wonderful World", glaringly absent from this wretched compilation, consecrated Armstrong to history: "When The Saints Go Marchin' In". When you think of that song, the association with Louis is instantaneous, his is the most famous, the definitive interpretation.
You've been dancing for a while now, so why not surrender to the situation and sing this song with Satchmo? I'm sure he'd be happy to duet with you. Turn up the volume, sing. Maybe take the lead, or respond to what he's singing, it doesn't matter. But do it, and dance. And if you know someone who, after all this, is still lounging on that damned bed, well, introduce them to me: I'll explain it to them, by force of swing.
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 I Only Have Eyes for You (04:14)
My love must be a kind of blind love
I can't see anyone but you
And dear, I wonder if you find love
An optical illusion, too?
Are the stars out tonight?
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
'Cause I only have eyes for you, dear
The moon may be high
But I can't see a thing in the sky
'Cause I only have eyes for you.
I don't know if we're in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue
You are here, so am I
Maybe millions of people go by
But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for you
08 Body and Soul (04:43)
My heart is sad and lonely
For you I sigh, for you, dear, only
Why haven't you seen it?
I'm all for you, body and soul
I spend my days in longin'
And wond'ring why it's me you're wrongin'
I tell you, I mean it
I'm all for you, body and soul
I can't believe it, it's hard to conceive it
That you'd turn away romance
Are you pretending? It looks like the ending
Unless I could have one more chance to prove, dear
My life a wreck you're making
You know I'm yours for just the taking
I'd gladly surrender myself to you, body and soul
My life a wreck you're making
You know I'm yours for just the taking
I would gladly surrender myself to you, body and soul
11 Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (04:54)
{verse 1)
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen
Nobody knows but Jesus
Nobody knows the trouble I've seen
Glory Hallelujah
-repeat verse-
Sometimes I'm up and sometimes I'm down
Yes lord, you know sometimes I'm almost to the ground
O yes, Lord, still
-verse 1-
You got here before I do
O yes Lord, don't forget to tell all my friends I'm coming too
O yes Lord, still
-verse 1-
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Other reviews
By The Giant
The jazz in this record is tavern jazz, fiery, black, crowded, that flows, like lava, almost impossible to contain.
Louis Armstrong, the boy born... who forever revolutionized jazz and music in general, driving the public’s attention to the performer’s solo.
