The four Massachusetts-born Ames Brothers were the first group to be featured on new Decca subsidiary Coral Records in the late 1940s, scoring their first smash hit with "Sentimental Me"/"Rag Mop" in 1949. This began a succession of major hit records that continued through the 1950s: "Can Anyone Explain?," "Stars Are the Windows of Heaven," "The Hawaiian War Chant," "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart," "String Along" "My Favorite Song" and "You, You, You." This 2 CD compilation (we love all the great music you get for your money on these remastered collections!), is a blend of recordings issued by Coral and RCA Victor. Disc 1 is their RCA output and includes several best-selling recordings: "The Man with the Banjo," "My Bonnie Lassie," "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" and "It Only Hurts for a Little While." Disc 2 is special because it features all Coral material, most of which are debuting on CD here. These include "Far Away Places," "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," the spirituals "Joshua Fit De Battle of Jericho and "Who Built the Ark?", and all 8 tracks from their 1950 Christmas album, with 14 Christmas songs altogether. All these tunes are band-accompanied, and all feature the Brothers' bright, velvety rich, upbeat leads and harmonies. Great 50s stuff from one of the great vocal quartets! |
