Various Artists - Forties (CD)

All Music Guide

Flapper's The 'Forties is a British compilation of 25 recordings popular in that decade, and it will help a lot in the appreciation of the disc if the listener is British, too. While there was considerable overlap between U.S. and U.K. popular music in the '40s, more in terms of songs than artists, there was also far more separation than there would be in later decades. The compilation does contain some recordings that were successful stateside, notably such American chart-toppers as Russ Morgan's "Cruising Down the River" and Glenn Miller's "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo"; major U.S. stars like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra are included, and such popular songs as "Seems Like Old Times" and "G.I. Jive" are featured. But some of the songs and many of the artists will be unfamiliar to Americans. Joe Loss, Vera Lynn, and Edmundo Ros had some impact on the west side of the Atlantic, but names like Carroll Gibbons, Billy Cotton, the Squadronaires, Nat Gonella, Harry Roy, Archie Lewis, Flanaga...n and Allen, Steve Conway, and Geraldo remained British-only favorites. Yet they turn out to be engaging performers, and if U.S. listeners may be hearing such war-themed songs as the ally-friendly "Yankee Doodle Came to London Town" or the democratic "The Smiths and the Jones" for the first time, they may become welcome additions to a list of '40s favorites. - William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read more Less