Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

Pavilion Records’ Pearl label specialises in taking early recordings, treating them with the latest digital technology and releasing them on CD to fascinate and delight those who appreciate the music of days gone by – well, it certainly fascinated me. Okay, there’s still some surface noise, but nothing that your scratch filter couldn’t sort out, and these recordings are really timeless. To give you an idea of what to expect, the track list on this well filled CD (22 cuts, run time nearly 79 minutes) includes “The Holy City” by Dame Clara Butt, recorded in 1929; Beniamino Gigli, the legendary Italian tenor, and his 1936 recording of Cesar Franck’s “Panis Angelicus”, Irish tenor John McCormack’s 1931 reading of “Nearer, My God, To Thee,” and Paul Robeson with a couple of early 1930s cuts of his trademark spirituals. There’s a 1947 recording of Mahalia Jackson wringing every last emotional drop from the first verse of “Amazing Grace”, there are choral pieces dating from 1938 by The Vienna Boys’ Choir, and if you thought that the pseudo-spiritual item “Deck Of Cards” dated from the 1960s, via Wink Martindale or Max Bygraves, there’s a recording here dated 1948 by Phil Harris, the American actor who was best known as the voice of Baloo the bear in Disney’s animated film of The Jungle Book. I repeat: this is fascinating – well worth getting hold of if you’re an old time music buff.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.