Glenn Miller & the Army Air Force Band - Army Air Force Band (CD)

All Music Guide

In 1956, RCA Victor released an ambitious, if imperfect, five-LP set that focused on U.S. performances by Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band; all of the material, which spanned July 1943-June 1944, was recorded before the orchestra moved to England. That five-LP set drove Miller's hardcore fans wild; they were thrilled to get their hands on a lot of recordings that had not been commercially available prior to 1956. All of the material from that release is available on this four-CD, 61-track boxed set, which RCA assembled in 2001. If RCA was hoping to improve on the original 1956 release, it succeeded. This set is even more comprehensive; Army Air Force Band contains 23 previously unreleased recordings that weren't on the 1956 release, and many of Miller's spoken introductions to the songs have been restored; in most cases, those introductions were omitted on the 1956 set. These 1943 and 1944 recordings come from various sources. Some are recordings of live performances that were broadc...ast nationally from New York on Uncle Sam Presents and I Sustain the Wings, two World War II-era radio programs. Others are studio recordings that were originally heard on military V-discs. Army Air Force Band is quite diverse; listeners are exposed to everything from exuberant instrumentals to romantic, Bing Crosby-influenced crooning by Johnny Desmond. Not surprisingly, the set has its share of patriotic material; Miller's Army Air Force Band was, after all, a military band, and the U.S. was at war in 1943 and 1944. Although this set deserves applause, it isn't recommended to those who have only a casual interest in Miller's work; they would be better off with a single-disc collection of his best-known civilian recordings. But for Miller's more obsessive fans, this four-CD set is something to cherish. - Alex Henderson, All Music Guide Read more Less