Goodman exploded into superstardom via RCA Victor recordings and this Very Best of Benny Goodman stems from the right source, for these transfers are from the original metal discs. In the past RCA has issued CDs of vintage Goodman material in appalling transfers, which may have been good for underwater dancing, but not much else. This CD represents a gigantic advance over such sloppiness. On top of that, the selection (by producer John Snyder) is solid as well as imaginative: this is not merely a greatest-hits compilation put together on the basis of the sales ledger, but a sensible combination of big hits and fine playing. So we get "And the Angels Sing" and "Goody Goody", but we also get the fine studio versions of "Sing, Sing, Sing" and "King Porter Stomp", plus gems from the quartet such as "Bei Mir Bist du Schoen" (both parts), "Avalon" and "Moonglow". So if you want a good cross section of what Goodman was up to in his absolute prime as the "King of Swing" (he'd been deposed by the time he went to Columbia in summer 1939), this is the place to start. --Keith Shadwick