Golden Age of Light Music Vol.70: Magical Melodies

Someone once said that the important thing which distinguished Light Music was the tune, rather than what you do with it. Listening to this collection he might have to change his mind, because the melodies on offer here would surely never sound so appealing without the magic woven in the glorious arrangements.

Some are both arranged and composed by the same talented musician, such as the opening track Melody Fair, by that master of Light Music, Robert Farnon, and Mine At Last by the very talented, but lesser-known, Otto Cesana. Other memorable tunes have benefited from the attentions of brilliant arrangers - Conrad Salinger, Paul Weston, Percy Faith, Bruce Campbell and others whose names are, sadly, unknown to us.

The recordings come from the early 1940s to the late 1950s, a period when light music was subjected to many new influences, notably the emergence of new talents such as David Rose, Sidney Torch and the aforementioned Robert Farnon.

Contents:
1. Melody Fair (Robert Farnon): Leslie Jones and his Orchestra of London
2. Loveliest Of The Lovely (Rudolf Friml): 101 Strings / Rudolf Friml
3. Carnival Tango (Joseph Kuhn): Dolores Ventura (piano) and the Carnival Orchestra
4. Autumn Nocturne (Josef Myrow; Kim Gannon): John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra
5. Warum Nur, Warum? (Why Just Why?) (Berking; Paulsen): Hans Georg Arlt and his Orchestra
6. Long Ago And Far Away (Jerome Kern, arr. Conrad Salinger): The Conrad Salinger Orchestra / Buddy Bregman
7. I've Got My Eyes On You (Cole Porter): Victor Silvester and his Silver Strings
8. Mam'selle (Edmund Goulding; Mack Gordon): John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra
9. Lullaby Of Broadway (Al Dubin; Harry Warren): Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra
10. I'm Thru With Love (Matt Malneck; Fud Livingston; Gus Kahn, arr. Paul Weston): Paul Weston and his Orchestra
11. Lovely Lady (Jimmy McHugh; Ted Koehler): The Melachrino Strings / George Melachrino
12. While We're Young (Bill Engvick; Morty Palitz; Alec Wilder): Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra
13. If I Loved You (Richard Rodgers): Geoff Love and his Orchestra
14. Return To Paradise (film theme) (Ned Washington; Dimitri Tiomkin, arr. Percy Faith): Percy Faith and his Orchestra
15. Underneath Tahitian Skies (Ralph Siegel; Robert Mellin): Dolf Van Der Linden and his Orchestra (As 'Van Lynn' On LP)
16. Too Soon (Robert Harris, arr. Bruce Campbell): Bruce Campbell and his Orchestra
17. Mine At Last (Otto Cesana): Otto Cesana and his Orchestra
18. Scalinatella (Stay After School) (Giuseppe Cloffi; Wilson): Cyril Stapleton and his Orchestra
19. Spring In Montmartre (Larry Fotine): Mantovani and his Orchestra
20. Tonight (Dorchas Cochran; Ralph Sterling, better known as David Carroll): David Carroll and his Orchestra
21. I'll Take Romance (Ben Oakland; Oscar Hammerstein II): David Rose and his Orchestra
22. Eva Waltz (Franz Lehár): Harry Horlick and his Orchestra (As 'Rene Savard' On Disc Label)
23. On The Isle Of May (based on the Andante Cantabile from Tchaikovsky's Quartet in D Major) (Andre Kostelanetz): Frank De Vol and his Orchestra
24. Without A Song (Vincent Youmans, arr. Robert Farnon): Robert Farnon and his Orchestra
25. Midnight In Paris (from the film 'Here's To Romance') (Con Conrad; Herb Magidson): Lewis Williams and his Orchestra