Cab Calloway and His Orchestra – Vol. 1 – The Early Years 1930-1934 – 4CD

Track Listing:

CD1:
1. Gotta Darn Good Reason Now (For Bein' Good) - 3:20   2. St. Louis Blues - 3:02   3. Sweet Jennie Lee - 3:02   4. Happy Feet - 2:38   5. Yaller - 3:18   6. The Viper’s Drag - 3:23   7. Is That Religion - 2:54   8. Some Of These Days - 2:59   9. Nobody’s Sweetheart - 3:20   10. St. James Infirmary - 3:05   11. Dixie Vagabond - 3:03   12. So Sweet - 2:57   13. Minnie The Moocher - 3:14   14. Doin' The Rumba - 2:58   15. Mood Indigo - 2:37   16. Farewell Blues - 2:42   17. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby - 2:35   18. Creole Love Song (Creole Love Call) - 2:56   19. The Levee Low-Down - 2:58   20. Blues In My Heart - 2:51   21. My Honey's Lovin Arms - 2:58   22. The Nightmare - 2:45   23. It Looks Like Susie - 2:55   24. Sweet Georgia Brown - 2:34   25. Basin Street Blues - 2:53

CD2:
1. Black Rhythm - 3:19   2. Six Or Seven Times - 3:28   3. Bugle Call Rag - 2:33   4. You Rascal, You - 3:16   5. Stardust - 3:30   6. You Can’t Stop - 2:56   7. You Dog - 3:02   8. Somebody Stole My Gal - 2:51   9. Ain't Got No Gal In This Town - 3:15   10. Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea - 3:05   11. Trickeration - 2:55   12. Kickin' The Gong Around - 3:14   13. Down-Hearted Blues - 2:56   14. Without Rhythm - 2:47   15. Corinne Corinna - 3:06   16. Stack O' Lee Blues - 3:07   17. The Scat Song - 3:08   18. Cabin In The Cotton - 4:03   19. A Strictly Cullud Affair - 3:04   20. Aw You Dawg - 2:48   21. Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day - 3:09   22. Dinah - 3:07   23. How Come You Do Me Like You Do? - 2:52   24. Old Yazoo - 2:52

CD3:
1. Angeline - 2:50   2. I'm Now Prepared To Tell The World It’s You - 2:52   3. Swanee Lullaby - 2:38   4. Reefer Man - 2:55   5. The Old Man Of The Mountain - 2:51   6. You Gotta Ho-De-Ho (To Get Along With Me) - 3:05   7. Strange As It Seems - 3:17   8. This Time It’s Love - 2:56   9. Git Along - 2:41   10. Hot Toddy - 2:40   11. I've Got The World On A String - 3:07   12. Harlem Holiday - 2:47   13. Dixie Doorway - 3:00   14. Wah-Dee-Dah - 2:58   15. Sweet Rhythm - 2:49   16. Beale Street Mama - 3:06   17. That's What I Hate About Love - 3:08   18. The Man From Harlem - 3:03   19. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues - 3:12   20. My Sunday Gal - 2:55   21. Eadie Was A Lady - 2:51   22. Gotta Go Places And Do Things - 2:44   23. Hot Water - 2:46

CD4:
1. Evenin’ - 2:47   2. Harlem Hospitality - 2:38   3. The Lady With The Fan - 3:18   4. Harlem Camp Meeting - 3:07   5. Zaz Zuh Zaz - 3:26   6. Father's Got His Glasses On - 3:10   7. Minnie The Moocher - 3:35   8. The Scat Song - 2:43   9. Kickin The Gong Around - 3:19   10. There's A Cabin In The Cotton - 3:25   11. I Learned About Love From Her - 3:04   12. Little Town Girl - 3:14   13. 'Long About Midnight - 3:05   14. Moon Glow - 3:11   15. Jitter Bug - 3:10   16. Hotcha Razz-Ma-Tazz - 3:13   17. Margie - 3:08   18. Emaline - 2:52   19. Chinese Rhythm - 2:45   20. Moonlight Rhapsody - 3:18   21. Avalon - 3:22   22. Weakness - 3:02

Reviews:

1. AllMusic - arwulf arwulf
Cab Calloway made a lot of records besides Minnie the Moocher. The best of these date from the first 15 years of his recording career. If you want to delve deeper than the standard thimbleful of over-circulated novelty hits, you might as well opt for JSP's affordably priced four-CD compilation Vol. 1: The Early Years 1930-1934. It contains every single issued recording he made between July 24, 1930 and September 4, 1934, lined up in chronological sequence. While this time line stops short of Calloway's masterful 1935 scat version of "Nagasaki," the sheer volume of vintage material makes this a rolling goldmine of classic early swing. Young Calloway was still patterning his act after big sister Blanche Calloway, a boisterous entertainer who pushed every song to the limit. Both Calloways tended towards shouting and screaming the lyrics; certainly Cab's outbursts on "St. Louis Blues" and "Bugle Call Rag" straddle the line between abrasive and manic. Other highlights include the justifiably famous "St. James Infirmary," the Duke Ellington covers "Creole Love Call" and "Mood Indigo"; Fats Waller's "Old Yazoo," and those notorious anthems of substance abuse, "The Reefer Man," "Kickin' the Gong Around" and "The Man from Harlem." Although Calloway was not noted for his instrumentals, several excellent examples occur in this part of the man's discography, including "Moon Glow," "Hot Toddy," "The Nightmare," "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" and Fats Waller's "Viper's Drag." This is the young, fresh, slightly over-the-top Cab Calloway. Guaranteed to keep everyone awake.