Various Artists - 1930's: The Singers (CD)

All Music Guide

Part of a 1987 Columbia reissue sampler series that was later also issued on CD, this set has 16 vintage recordings that are presented roughly in chronological order. There is one selection apiece from the who's-who of 1930s jazz vocalists: Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong ("Blue Again"), Jack Teagarden, Fats Waller ("I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby"), Bing Crosby the Mills Brothers (the alternate take of "Dinah"), the Boswell Sisters, Connie Boswell, Ella Fitzgerald ("All My Life"), Don Redman, the Spirits of Rhythm, Chick Bullock (definitely a ringer), Louis Prima, Henry "Red" Allen, Mildred Bailey, Ivie Anderson ("Rose of the Rio Grande"), Billie Holiday ("Mean to Me") and Midge Williams. Virtually all of the numbers are well worth hearing, and although most have been reissued in more complete fashion elsewhere, this is a very enjoyable sampler.

- Scott Yanow, All Music Guide