Volume one in Naxos Nostalgia's Complete Recordings of Al Jolson traces the singer's progress from his earliest recording session of December 22, 1911 through the first six months of his Columbia period to December 3, 1914. One indispensable selection is Jolson's amazing interpretation of "Asleep in the Deep," Arthur J. Lamb and Henry W. Petrie's tribute to drowned sailors, published in 1897. This recording, which was waxed at the same initial Victor session as "That Haunting Melody" and "Rum Tum Tiddle," showcases every quality that matters most in Jolson's artistry -- his beautiful, synagogue-trained voice, his peculiar sense of humor, and a theatricality that could be alternately absurd and profound. This slice of the Jolson story includes his June 1913 recording of that great accusatory musical mash note "You Made Me Love You," and "That Little German Band," a novelty that fits into the micro-genre of pre-WWI songs making light of Germanic culture. That assignation places it in league with Theodore Morse's "The Leader of the German Band" (1905) and "Sauerkraut Is Bully," a truly bizarre exercise in ethnic caricature recorded in 1912 by yodeling comedian George P. Watson. "Snap Your Fingers (And Away We Go)," and "Everybody Snap Your Fingers with Me" are topically connected with George Gershwin's much more memorable "Just Snap Your Fingers at Care," popularized on record in 1920 by vaudeville's lukewarm contralto Nora Bayes. While Naxos does not include the alternate versions that appear in other early Jolson collections, this edition does contain a rare short take of "Back to the Carolina You Love," which was released on the 7" Little Wonder label with the singer identified only as "baritone".
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