Paul Whiteman - Sweet and Low Down: Vol. 3, Original 1925-1928 Recordings

The third volume in Naxos Nostalgia's series of reissues of Paul Whiteman's Victor recordings of the 1920s finds the bandleader at the peak of his popularity, turning out a series of effervescent performances of novelty tunes and standards. Only a handful of these tracks are cited by chart historians as notable hits for Whiteman, in particular "Valencia," but the collection offers a good cross section of the kind of material he cut in this period and how he approached it. Three-quarters of a century later, the songs often sound frivolous and of their time, but it's worth noting that, in the mid-'20s, a tune that might sound harmless now may have been more subversive. Read More