The Hit Parade 1948: 25 Original Recordings by the Original Artists

by Various Artists

One could gather that the postwar U.S. had definitely settled down, judging by the musical choices on this 25-song CD. Starting with Doris Day's lyrical (yet subtly moody) "It's Magic" and continuing through Nat King Cole's ornately arranged rendition of "Nature Boy," most of what is represented here is very much on the soothing side of pop music; indeed, the Day and Cole songs are among the more challenging records here, and those are hardly daring exercises, except in the most subtle aspects of their production and execution; even Peggy Lee is represented by the novelty tune "Ma¤ana (Is Soon Enough for Me)," a song that hardly did the legend credit in decades to come. Kay Kyser, Harry Babbit, and Gloria Wood bounce through the jaunty "On a Slow Boat to China," and Bing Crosby declares "Now Is the Hour"; the only obvious break in the sedate tone comes from the Ink Spots, whose harmonizing on "You Were Only Fooling" adds some daring to the level of vocalizing attempted. The sound quality is consistent if not exceptional, and there is, as with the rest of this series, no annotation. ~ Bruce Eder