The Best Of The Andrews Sisters

The Andrews Sisters

1. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (Means You're Grand) 2. Hold Tight (Want Some Sea Food) 3. Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar 4. I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time 5. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy 6. Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) 7. Shoo-Shoo Baby 8. Rum And Coca-Cola 9. Near You 10. I Wanna Be Loved 11. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive 12. I Can Dream, Can't I?

The oft-touted critical notion that pop music revivals are usually spawned by reactionary nostalgia founders miserably when trying to explain swing music's resurgence, a renaissance seen over by latter-day hipsters born three decades after the music's supposed demise. A better explanation can be found on this 12-track Andrews Sisters sampler: vibrant, sassy music that's influenced artists from Bette Midler to the Manhattan Transfer and beyond. Starting as purveyors of typically serene ballads in the late '30s, the Andrews' tight harmonies virtually became the nation's soundtrack during the war years when wed to swing (the era-defining "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy") and even influences as seemingly far afield as blues ("Shoo-Shoo Baby") and calypso ("Rum and Coca-Cola"). Culled mostly from their stellar '40s prime, this collection serves as a great introduction to a stellar career--and a fine rationale for swing's unexpected modern blossoming. --Jerry McCulley

Price: $11.98