Mitch Miller Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
This double-disc set is one of the more bountiful compilations gleaned from Mitch Miller's voluminous Columbia Records catalog. Unfortunately, the contents of 50 All-American Favorites (2004) have been confined to the years 1958 to 1962, during which time Miller's unconventional performance style was on its final descent. Mitch Miller & the Gang consisted of Miller fronting a full choral ensemble of vocalists who sang in unison. As the bandleader was also the concurrent head of Columbia Records' Artists and Repertoire, he was able to use his business savvy and influence to flood the market with a seemingly endless stream of thematic releases. The long-players were filled with familiar popular music, folk, seasonal, and patriotic standards and often came with removable singalong lyric sheets that could be distributed for the purpose of audience participation. As remarkable as it might seem from the perspective of a modern pop listener, Miller and company garnered no less than 19 Top 40 singles by 1958 -- the point at which the anthology begins. That is one reason that none of Miller's best-known sides are included -- although every entry provides a clear indication of the Gang's straightforward material. A glance at the track list yields the most obvious examples of the undeniably ersatz and otherwise unimaginative fare. From the American heartland songbook comes the practically anticipated "Home on the Range," "My Melancholy Baby," "Ain't We Got Fun," and the occasional medley combining the likes of "School Days" with "Sweet Rosie O'Grady" and "Sidewalks of New York." A few of the selections from the God and Country files are "Rock of Ages," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," and "Beautiful Ohio." Of course there are scores of wholesome early 20th century classics such as "Goodnight, Irene," "Red River Valley," "Down by the Old Mill Stream," "Carolina in the Morning," "Tea for Two," and "Bye, Bye Blackbird," among them. For those wishing to find a disc with Miller & the Gang's "hits," both the 15-cut Greatest Hits (1999) or 16 Most Requested Songs (1988) are worth searching out. Parties looking for specific album titles should be aware that the Collectables label has issued Mmmmitch!/Music Until Midnight (2000), More Sing-Along With Mitch/Still More! Sing-Along (2001), and It's So Peaceful in the Country/European Holiday (2003) as two-fer CDs. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
'Presents Christmas Songs and Carols'
Release Date 11/12/2002
Tracks 16
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch'
Release Date 10/25/1990
Tracks 10
Label Sony
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What The Critics Say
The first Sing Along with Mitch Christmas album documents the MOR sound of the '50s. ~ David A. Milberg, All Music Guide
'Sing Along with Mitch'
Release Date 10/25/1990
Tracks 12
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
This is the kind of album that Howard and Marion Cunningham (Tom Bosley and Marion Ross) and their neighbors would have been listening to together on Happy Days, if the latter had been a CBS series rather than an ABC series. Seriously, starting with "That Old Gang of Mine," Mitch Miller and the Gang go through 16 songs (some as medleys) that, even in 1958, felt like they were 100 years old. In fairness, they don't feel quite like they're 150 years old when heard on the CD in 2007 -- to that degree, they've sort of become "timeless" -- but they were definitely intended to appeal to parents and grandparents at the time of the album's release. The performances on such tunes as "Down by the Old Mill Stream," "You Are My Sunshine," and "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," are bold and robust, with little touches of subtlety in the dynamics and the spare accompaniment -- often not much more than a harmonica or an accordion, with a ukulele -- and the tempos, that make them somewhat more interesting to hear as a body than they are as individual tracks. Actually, Miller and company seem to have planned this album as a total, cohesive listening experience rather than a series of separate, isolated songs, as the numbers come almost right up against each other, with virtually no pause between. Among the individual tracks, those who liked Miller's hit rendition of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" will probably luxuriate in the version of "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" featured here. The contrasting tempos and melodies are all very carefully selected, for the greatest variety between songs, and it's all calculated right down to the light-hearted final track, "Be Kind to Your Web-Footed Friends," which is here as a jocular, almost self-deprecating finish. It's almost a concept album, in that sense -- and was Miller consciously stepping into territory that his one-time most outspoken in-house critic, Frank Sinatra, was staking out in his then-current berth at Capitol Records? -- and a surprisingly well-crafted one. And while it is easy to scoff at this kind of music 50 years on, one should also remember that Sing Along with Mitch was one of the bigger selling albums in the Columbia Records library, staying in print for decades and racking up sales sufficient to earn it a release as part of the label's first wave of budget-priced CDs (alongside albums such as Paul Revere & the Raiders' Greatest Hits etc.), thirty years after its original release. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
'Holiday Sing-Along with Mitch Miller'
Release Date 1/1/1961
Tracks 16
Label CBS
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What The Critics Say
Holiday Sing-Along with Mitch Miller, his second Christmas/holiday record, is as enjoyable as Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch, thanks to his commercial production and appealing song selection. There are no surprises here -- Miller's records are all essentially the same; the only things that change are the songs -- but anyone who enjoys his sound should find this holiday album worth adding to their collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
