Al Jolson - Let Me Sing & I'm Happy (CD)

All Music Guide

An exhaustive (and exhausting) look at Al Jolson's fiveyear period between his 1946 comeback with The Al Jolson Story and his death five years later, the Living Era collection Let Me Sing and I'm Happy plows ground that has not only been worked over well, but has proved fallow compared to Jolson's recording prime of the 1900's and 1910's. In fact, the liner notes admit as much, stating that "many of us take the overly familiar Decca recordings for granted" and going on to reprint the fallacy "[T]hey really do represent some of Jolson's greatest moments in the recording studio." At least this late work did perform well, charting highly and placing many more millionsellers ("April Showers," "Ma Blushin' Rosie," "My Mammy," "RockABye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody," "The Anniversary Song") into Jolson's canon. A few of his collaborations are the best material here, including two famed duets with Bing Crosby "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and "The Spaniard That Blighted My Life" as well as th...e Andrew Sisters and Four Hits and a Miss. The chronological, completist approach does provide a few magic moments, including the eightsong Stephen Foster songbook that Jolson recorded three months before his death (and which lay unissued on CD until this appearance). - John Bush, All Music Guide Read more Less