The first of two volumes of music recorded by
Benny Goodman for the Universal biopic The Benny Goodman Story is mostly oriented toward the overtly swinging numbers -- "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Let's Dance," "Don't Be That Way," "One O'Clock Jump," etc. -- which aren't bad but don't really allow the listener to hear the real potential of the players, who include
Gene Krupa (mostly wasted),
Buck Clayton,
Stan Getz, et al. The brass was recorded a little too fully in the outsized film studio facilities of Universal, which probably sounded great up on the big screen but didn't help the listener at home -- even
Krupa is a little at sea here, and only
Teddy Wilson seems to get much good out of the proceedings, on "Roll 'Em." But then there's "It's Been So Long," which proves that less is a lot more and shows this band generating the sound that it should, and delivering a priceless three minutes. The whole recording was flawed --
Goodman and company thought so at the time it was done -- but there's just enough good in "It's Been So Long," "Stompin' at the Savoy," and "Roll 'Em" to make this essential listening. And it did sell, in sufficient quantities to justify a second LP a few months later. ~ Bruce Eder