This collects 20 of
Leroy Anderson's best-known recordings.
Anderson produced little "orchestral miniatures": original compositions that utilized much of the trappings of classical music put in the confines of a pop single. Decca Records signed him in 1950 to conduct his music for a gigantic, 55-piece orchestra (one that
Anderson often said could never be put together in a live situation), producing pieces that were quirky ("The Syncopated Clock"), offbeat ("The Typewriter"), and just plain whimsical and fun ("Fiddle Faddle" and "Plink, Plank, Plunk!"). Best known of all is the title track, composed during a July heat wave in 1948. Though his music is seldom revived today, it was enormously catchy and popular in the pre-rock & roll days of pop music and sounds wonderful collected here. ~ Cub Koda