On The Moon-Beam / Down Memory Lane [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED]

This actually the re-release of two of Vaughn Monroe's most popular albums of the mid 1940s entitled 'On The Moon Beam' and 'Down Memory Lane'. Those were both first recorded on 78rpms and later made it to 45 rpms. As if that were not sufficient, also included are two songs from yet another Extended Play (EP), "Something Sentimental" and the "Anniversary Song". 'On The Moon-Beam' was released at a time when Vaughn Monroe's records were the biggest sellers among RCA Victor artists and when Vaughn was credited for "...doing more to popularise the moon than the Mount Palomar Observatory!" and popularise the moon is just what Vaughn (joined on a number of the tunes with the Moon Maids and Moon Men) does in the first part of this CD. The contributions of the chorus are significant in "Moonlight And Roses", "Shine On Harvest Moon" and "Blue Moon". Vaughn solo nicely on "Paper Moon" and especially nice renderings of "Moon Love" and "Moon Glow". Also standing out is the Latin-tempoed, "The Moon Was Yellow". Included is VM's signature "Racing With The Moon". As for the memory portion, again Vaughn is joined with the chorus in "Roses For Remembrance" and "Easy To Remember". Monroe does a solid job on "Memory Lane" and the wistful "Thanks For The Memory". Dinah Shore is brought to mind when Vaughn sings her hit "Easy To Remember". So also is one reminded of Al Jolson's hit "The Anniversary Song" which Vaughn enriches here with a nice orchestral arrangement. Its good to see Monroe's recordings becoming more and more frequent as manifested by the number of new releases now available. Although some of the arrangements by today's standards seem 'dated', Monroe's singing talents show through and make this a worthy item for collector's of this kind of music to have and enjoy.