Released in 2007, Retrieval's
Swing Is the Thing is a highly recommended sampler of definitive swing recordings made between February 1932 and February 1942 by
Duke Ellington,
Fats Waller,
Tommy Dorsey,
Benny Goodman,
Bunny Berigan,
Bob Crosby, and
Artie Shaw. Most of the selections are instrumental, and most exceed the durational constraints of the 10" record, which is a fancy way of saying that 14 out of 16 tracks last longer than four minutes, allowing for longer solos and extended ensemble jamming. While this compilation works well both as an introduction to and a reaffirmation of the swing tradition, the extra emphasis on
Crosby -- he gets four tracks while the rest are assigned only two -- is a bit puzzling. If the producers of this album wanted to stick with long tracks, all they had to do was substitute
Count Basie's "Cherokee" and "Miss Thing" for two of the
Crosby tunes and this would have been even better and more accurate. Omitting
Basie from the lineup in favor of
Crosby is a programmatic gaff that bumps this collection down from outstanding to merely excellent. ~ arwulf arwulf