Swing High, Swing Low: The Early Recordings 1935-41

The focus of this set is on the Ink Spots' early years: it begins with their third recording session and continues through the first year of their widespread success. During what annotator Peter Gammond calls "the transitional years," they experimented with different styles, cutting everything from swing standards like "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "Christopher Columbus" to the Gershwins' "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and "Slap That Bass." But soon after their commercial breakthrough with "If I Didn't Care" in the spring of 1939, they adopted that record's arrangement as a formula style. There was also a personnel changeover before the hit-making period set in, with lead singer Jerry Daniels replaced by Bill Kenny. This evolution is obscured by the sequencing of the album, which goes back and forth between the earlier and later work. Nevertheless, most of the group's first batch of hits, 1939-40, is included, though oddly their first chart-topper, "Address Unknown," is missing. ~ William Ruhlmann